The United States' top intelligence agency, Federal Bureau of
Investigations (FBI) says that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) is the most dangerous and deadly extremist organization in the
world. The official website of FBI in its tops story said that LTTE is
far more dangerous terrorists outfit than al Queda, Hezbullah or even
HAMAS. Read more...

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Saturday, 23 July 2011 06:22 PM

LTTE
Tamil Tigers are re-grouping abroad, says a French magazine

Sri Lankan
nationalists doubt legality of 13th amendment
- The 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, which
incorporates devolution plan for the Tamils in the country's north and
east, needs to be probed by Parliament to examine its legality, a
nationalist pressure group has said. "The 13th amendment was
never a demand by either the Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims. Even at
this late stage the amendment needs to be rejected," Elle
Gunawansa, a pro-government Buddhist monk who leads the 'National
Organisations Collective', said. The amendment was adopted in 1987 as
a result of the Indo-Lanka accord between then Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi and ex-President JR Jayawardene. The JVP and the rest of the
opposition led a vicious campaign against the amendment and the system
of provincial councils that came with it. However, the provincial
councils later came to be accepted by the very forces who opposed it.
The Tamil parties have been pressing for the conferring of full powers
to the councils despite the LTTE's violent opposition to the system.
Omare Kassapa, another monk, said the provinces should never be given
police and land powers. "We know the President's thinking on
this. He is opposed to these powers being given." Gunadasa
Amarasekera, a leading activist of the movement, said "the 13th
amendment was illegal. If any more action is to be taken on it, such
action needed to be subject to public approval." The amendment
needs to be probed by Parliament to examine its legality, leaders of
the pressure group said. The debate on the amendment has been revived
in the country since the visit of a high-power Indian delegation last
month. The government had informed Indian National Security Adviser
Shivshankar Menon that police and land powers could not be vested in
the provincial councils and that Rajapaksa intends to formulate a
solution to the problems of the Tamil minority through a Parliamentary
select committee process, officials here said (IBN
Live ; 15 July 2011).

NGO suspects wanted
for Gotabhaya assassination bid have fled to India
- by Shamindra Ferdinando - Two LTTE operatives allegedly involved in
the Dec 1, 2006 attempt to assassinate Defence Secretary Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa have fled to India, according to intelligence sources. The
suspects have been identified as two employees of CARE Sri Lanka,
including the senior officer in charge of the NGOs Kilinochchi
office when the LTTE controlled the Vanni region. The NGO employees
are alleged to have bought explosives in a vehicle belonging to CARE
Sri Lanka and handed over the lethal cargo to the LTTE squad tasked
with the operation. Under interrogation, LTTE suspects taken in
connection with undercover operations in the city and its suburbs have
revealed that CARE Sri Lanka employees had a secret compartment in the
petrol tank of the vehicle to move explosives from the Vanni to the
South. The LTTEblasted a three wheeler packed with explosives
targeting a car carrying the Defence Secretary at Piththala junction
while he was on his way to Temple Trees. The Sri Lankan Government
alerted India to the presence of the two suspects in India as well as
other terrorist suspects. Hundreds of LTTE cadres including key
terrorists, had managed to flee the country after the conclusion of
the war possibly with the help of some corrupt elements in the armed
forces and the police, sources said. A senior LTTE intelligence cadre,
who had been involved in several major operations, including the
attempt on Rajapaksas life, too, escaped and managed to reach
India, though his present whereabouts werent known. Sources said
that some of those who had initially sought refuge in India managed to
reach Canada using an LTTE ship, which picked them up in Indian
waters. Among those now in Canada are believed to be some key LTTE
operatives involved in arms smuggling (Island
: 15 July 2011).

Tigers re-grouping
abroad-French magazine - ASIES, a French
current affairs magazine in its inaugural issue says the LTTE has set
up new networks in Tamil Nadu, Canada and Europe and is in the process
of re-grouping for another war. The following is a translation of the
ASIES piece made available to The Island by the External Affairs
Ministry: The prodigal son of the North-Korean dictator and the
tattooed members of the Chinese mafias are not the only ones to
launder dirty money in the "great boiler" of the Macao and
Hong Kong casinos. Members of the LTTE, the separatist organization of
the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, also used that stratagem in order to
buy weapons from Burma and Thailand, before being crushed in 2009 by
the government. But have the Tigers been eliminated for good, after
twenty-six years of a civil war which has allegedly killed between
80,000 and 100,000 people? Intelligence services of several countries
affirm that the Tigers are reorganizing themselves. A section of the
logistic services of the LTTE has remained intact. It has established
new networks with the Diaspora in Tamil Nadu (India), Canada and
Europe. During summer 20 I 0 the Canadians intercepted, off the coasts
of Vancouver, a boat carrying about five hundred Tamil refugees
suspected of belonging to the LTTE. Cells of the Tigers are allegedly
present in France, Great Britain, Norway and several Asian countries.
In 2009, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the leader of the international
department of the L TIE, had been arrested in Thailand and extradited
to Sri Lanka. Like nature, guerrillas dont like emptiness: a new
command comprised of eight members of the organization has recently
made contact with emissaries of the Sri Lankan government, in order to
propose the release of that charismatic leader in exchange for the
transformation of the group into a political formation. This way, the
Tigers are hoping to increase their ranks with those who, among the
10,000 members arrested after their military defeat, are remaining
faithful to their separatist ideals. The Sri Lankan leaders fear their
might be a trap: the revival of the war in the north of the island,
some day. Like the preceding ones, that case is to be continued in
Internal Affairs (Island
; 15 July 2011).

Extortion in the
guise of obtaining release of LTTE cadre -
By Jayantha de Silva - A suspect who was taken into custody for
allegedly soliciting and obtaining money on several occasions from the
mother of a LTTE member undergoing rehabilitation on the pretext of
securing his release was taken into custody and produced before Mt.
Lavinia Chief Magistrate Nirosha Fernando last week(4). The suspect in
this case is Kandasamy Nandakumar said to be an army deserter.
Prosecution alleged that the suspect had telephoned Ravindra Raja
Vijaya Sulochana the mother of the detainee and requested her to
deposit Rs.72, 000 in a bank account mentioned by him. He had
explained that the purpose was to procure a refrigerator and a water
pump to the Omanthai Rehabilitation Camp where her son is an inmate.
After a week the suspect had again phoned her to deposit another
Rs.65,000 to give to security personnel at the camp. When her son was
not released, she had lodged a complaint with the CID. The Magistrate
ordered the suspect to be remanded. Furthermore the details of the
suspects bank accounts were called at the next date of hearings
fixed for July 25 (Island
: 15 July 2011).

Massive weapons haul
found - By Supun Dias - The army has
unearthed a large number of artillery and ammunition including 1,555
120mm mortar bombs, 27,000 rounds of ammunition used for 12.7 mm guns
and 15,000 rounds of ammunition used for 7.52mm guns in Polloly,
Vannivilankulam, Kokavil and Udayarkattukulam. Military Spokesman
Major General Ubaya Medawala said that they unearthed nine hundred and
fifty-four 81 mm mortar bombs, three thousand 86 pounder bombs and
fifty 130 mm projectiles during the massive search operation which was
conducted on Thursday. Four 250 Kg air bombs without explosives and
six, 250 Kg air bombs with explosives, three claymore mines, one
torpedo and 2000 rounds of ammunition used for Multi Purpose Machine
Guns (MPMG) were also found by the army during the search operation
(Daily Mirror ; 15 July 2011).

WAR CRIMES -DIASPORA
TAMILS  SUPPORTERS OF THE LTTE - by
Jayantha Pathbey from USA - Attached is a news item from the
Telegraph, UK dated Wednesday 13 July 2011 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/liberia/8578540/Blood-diamond-trial-the-case-against-
Blood diamond trial: the case against Charles Taylor Charles
Taylor has spent the last three years on trial before the war crimes
tribunal in The Hague over accusations that as Liberian president he
funded years of atrocities in neighbouring Sierra Leone in return for
blood diamonds. Doesnt this remind us of the role played by
the tamil diaspora spread all over the world like a cancer that helped
LTTE and still continues in its attempts to break up Sri Lanka. The
tamil diaspora and all the countries that provided arms to the members
of diaspora tamils are guilty of supporting Prabhakaran and the LTTE,
that killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of citizens of Sri Lanka
(Sinhalese, Tamils, Moslems alike), recruitment of child soldiers,
brutal killing and executions of Sri Lankans, including a president
and hundreds of political leaders of Sri Lanka, colossal property
damage and even the killing of a leader of a foreign country (LankaWeb
; 15 July 2011).

US House of Reps
Screens Channel-4 Compilation regarding Sri Lanka
- by Mahes Ladduwahetty, Maryland - Dear Editors: The notice below
refers to the screening of the UKs Channel-4 film titledSri
Lankas Killing Fields in Washington DC. It is termed a Documentary
and is hosted by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and co-hosted
by HRW, AI-USA, ICG and OSF. This film is a compilation by Channel-4's
journalists in the UK and even they were careful to qualify the
footage as a basis for allegations, and did not state the events
as fact. Although many protests have been made regarding the
inconsistencies, evidences of editing, and tampering of the video
recordings and other questionable aspects of the compilation, this
TLHRC notification ignores them and asserts the footage as FACTUAL of
atrocities committed against civilians. It also states that the
film was recently screened to wide acclaim at the UN, when the
facts are that it was NOT screened at the UN but at a nearby Church.
It also refers to a report by a UN panel of Experts, when the panel
was an advisory panel to the UNSG that went far beyond its mandate
which was HOW to proceed with an accountability exercise, and it
documented allegations and complaints from people, largely Tamil
immigrants seeking asylum in the USA, but sealed the documentation for
20 years. So is this not an yet unsubstantiated story taking a new
life of its own and being supported in that avatar by the US
House of Representatives going after Sri Lanka for whatever political
agenda that is in the background? (LankaWeb
; 15 July 2011).

Kohona Clears
Misconceptions about Children and Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka
- Underlying realities of child soldiers and armed conflict in Sri
Lanka have been ignored by a report released by the US-based Conflict
Dynamics International in an endeavor to stroke up embers of a
bitter past and politicize the issue of accountability related to
child recruitment, said Sri Lankas envoy to the United Nations
Dr. Palitha Kohona at an open debate at the Security Council on July
12. Accordingly, Ambassador Kohona stressed that the
misinformation and distortions of the Conflict Dynamics International
report feeds to the international elements to strengthen their
maneuvers to disrupt the Sri Lanka governments initiation for
reconciliation and consolidate peace within the country since the
military defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. In the final stages of the
conflict, children were thrown up in large numbers by the LTTE as
cannon fodder and more than one generation of children was sacrificed
to realize a megalomaniacs (referring to the LTTE leader
Prabhakaran) dream, he conceded. The website quotes Dr. Kohona as
saying that the assertion of the Report of the Conflict Dynamics
International that individuals implicated in crimes against
children in the area of armed conflict continue to hold
high-government positions is sadly incomplete and misleading. The
Government had consistently encouraged former armed groups to denounce
violence and enter the democratic process as a part of the
reconciliation effort. (Sunday
Observer ; 15 July 2011).

Fake Channel 4 video
to be shown in US Congress - Message from
Sri Lankans To: Congressman Jim McGovern 438 Cannon HOB Washington, DC
20515 - Dear Congressman McGovern, We Americans are shocked to hear
that you have decided to show the fake British Channel 4 video The
Killing Fields of Sri Lanka this Friday in the Congress. We do not
want you to show this fabrication of facts in the United States
Congress. In fact, as an American we need you to bring charges against
the Tamils who supported the Tamil terror group LTTE for war crimes.
Dont you think its time we enforced anti-terror laws on American
soil? We request that Congressman McGovern reconsider his speaking at
and hosting this film screening. This type of vicious and evil
propaganda hurts Sri Lankans and Americans. It severely damages the
reconciliation process in Sri Lanka. It focuses on negativity and not
moving forward as a united country. It is divisive and damages the
progress and harmony of the island. It is a fraud. The documentary is
inaccurate and lacks authenticity. It is simply a piece of propaganda
with the sole intention of confusing the international community. None
of the clips in the video are attributed or corroborated. Numerous
international news organizations have noted that the documentary is
not journalism and simply contains unnamed sources and distorted
voices. Some of the alleged cell phone videos have time stamps
that took place months after the conflict ended. Since there is
absolutely no attribution to any of the scenes in the videos they
could have been staged at anytime, anywhere in the world
(LankaWeb ; 15 July 2011).

Canadian Human Rights
Voice (CHRV) event of June 12 at Scarborough Civic Center
- by Asoka Weerasinghe, Canada - Rathika Sitsabaiesan, NDP MP for
Scarborough-Rough River, Ontario House of Commons, Ottawa; Dear
Rathika: I was informed by a moderateTamil in Toronto that you
were in attendance at the Canadian Human Rights Voice (CHRV) event on
July 12 held at the Scarborough Civic Center, rapping about the
Darusman Report and the Channel 4 video Killing Fields in Sri Lanka,
and trying to figure out Canadas responsibilities to respond to the
violations of humanitarian and human rights law in Sri Lanka. I wasnt
there, but I wish I were. But I thought that CHRV had the right
approach, if and only they were prepared to take off their blinkers,
and lasso in one of the international culprits, Canada, for
instigating international war crimes, for having brought so much of
chest-thumping pain and blood-shedding in Sri Lanka by letting the
Canadian Snow Tigers collect two million dollars a month for 13
Liberal governing years to stuff the Tamil Tiger war chest. With that
money the Tamil Tigers bought war weapons to haemorrhage that
beautiful island nation and kill innocent unarmed people in the
thousands in Sri Lanka. This is the island which is filled with
beautiful people, Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, you name it,
22 million of them all, that you left behind at age 5 and I at age 19 (Lankaweb
: 15 July 2011).

LTTE
Front Organizations to be held accountable for war crimes

Rs 1.2 billion for
agricultural revival: Northern food boost helps 30,000 families
- 80,000 to 100,000 acres of fresh land to be cultivated for first
time - Process will soon see revival of agriculture sector in North -
by Ravi LADDUWAHETTY - Farmer families numbering 30,000 in the four
liberated Northern districts of Mannar, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and
Vavuniya will engage in paddy and crop cultivation for the first time
in the Maha season of 2011/ 2012, courtesy a Central Bank sponsored
loan scheme worth Rs 1.2 billion. This will also mean that a total
extent of 80,000 to 100,000 acres of fresh land will be cultivated for
the first time since the cessation of hostilities with the
resettlement of the Internally Displaced Persons, barring only a few
in the Pudukudirippu area. The loans, which have been facilitated by
the Central Bank will be disbursed through a private- public sector
partnership and the disbursing banks will be the Bank of Ceylon,
Peoples Bank, the SANASA Bank the Hatton National Bank and the
Union Bank. This will be the first time the farmers of these
liberated areas will be going in for paddy and crop cultivation
commencing in September, and we have identified 30,000 farmer families
for the cultivation loan scheme with the 2010 season being marred by
floods, Central Bank Assistant Governor (Regional Development) W.M.
Karunaratne told the Daily News yesterday. This process will soon
see the revival of the agriculture sector in the North with the
farmers not only going in for paddy cultivation but also subsidiary
crops like upcountry vegetables, such as, capsicum, beetroot, knol
khol along with green gram, black gram and maize which will be grown
in the districts of Mullativu, Mannar and Vavuniya (Daily
News : 15 July 2011).

Minister Rajapaksa
tells Diaspora: Invest in Jaffna - Economic
Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa extended an open invitation to
the Sri Lankan Diaspora to invest in Jaffna as the government has
created a conducive atmosphere with all required infrastructure
facilities for it. He said that if the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora
is serious in helping the Tamil community as they imply, it is time
they come and invest in the North for the well-being of the
people. Minister Rajapaksa is on a five-day tour of the North
where he inaugurated a series of multipurpose development projects in
Jaffna. On Wednesday morning soon after his arrival he offered pooja
at the Nallur Kandasami Kovil and later had audience with the Hindu
High Priest Nallai-aadeenam Kurukkal. Thirty-three roads within
Jaffna Municipal limit are to be developed and carpeted by the
Economic Development Ministry under the Uthuru Wasanthaya programme at
a cost of Rs 237 million. The minister inaugurated the carpeting
work at the Kovil Road as a symbol to inaugurate the work of all these
33 projects inclusive of Jaffna Temple Road, Kasthuriya Road and the
Clock Tower Road. The minister under the livelihood development
scheme also launched by his ministry inaugurated several community
service projects in Jaffna. Four water supply schemes in Ariyalai,
Urani, Karaveddy and Irupalai in the Valikamam sector in the peninsula
was inaugurated. These projects costing Rs 200 million, once completed
will provide ground water facilities to over 25,000 people (Daily
News ; 15 July 2011).

Asylum seekers may
have been heading for Canada - Globe and Mail
- The Canadian government suspects the ship carrying 87 Tamil asylum
seekers was bound for Canada until it was apprehended by Indonesian
authorities. "I can't talk about any details in intelligence
reports. There are indications that it may have been destined for
Canada," the Globe and Mail reported quoting the Canadian
Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney. "... Our intelligence and
police agencies are working very hard. They are getting great
co-operation from the transit countries, as we've seen this
week," the minister said. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key
said there was no guarantee the Sri Lankans were actually refugees and
they were not planning to go to New Zealand. "In terms of the
actual plans that they had it doesn't appear they weren't actually
intending to come here in the first place," New Zealand
Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman told the New Zealand Herald.
"If you look at where these boats have gone in the past they've
gone to a range of destinations. Canada's pretty popular as is
Australia." The MV Alicia was initially reported to have been
bound for New Zealand, or possibly Australia, before it was stopped in
Indonesian waters last weekend. While the ship's ultimate destination
remains something of a mystery, the Sydney Morning Herald has reported
that "charts indicating the boat was prepared to travel to
Canada" may have been found aboard the vessel. During a 12-month
period between 2009 and 2010, nearly 600 Tamil migrants turned up on
the coast of British Columbia in two nautical voyages. Some passengers
are said to have indebted themselves to the tune of more than $40,000
apiece (Daily
News : 15 July 2011).

Sri Lanka's
Killing Fields in US Congress: Sponsor Congressman McGovern,
Supporter of Colombian terrorist FARC - by
Daya Gamage - Co-sponsor of the controversial documentary Sri Lankas
Killing Field produced by Channel 4 scheduled to be screened at
Capitol Visitor Center of the United States Congress on Friday, 15
July and the keynote speaker at the screening Massachusetts Democratic
Congressman Jim McGovern has a dubious record of maintaining a rapport
and supporting the Colombian rebel organization Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC) whose main aim is to overthrow the
democratic government of Colombia. Now, Mr. McGovern is in league with
organizations that are aiming to destabilize the democratic government
of Sri Lanka, halt that governments initiation toward
reconciliation and disrupt the consolidation of peace this South Asian
nation gained with the defeat of terrorist/separatist Tamil Tigers or
the LTTE in May 2009. The mechanism of a section of Sri Lanka Tamil
Diaspora in the United States by strategically influencing the
international rights groups and the U.S. lawmakers, in the name of
human rights for the Sri Lanka Tamil ethnic group, is to haul the
leaders of the Sri Lanka government to international criminal court
and destabilize the nation in return for the total annihilation of the
Tamil Tigers. The result expected is the creation of an international
awareness that the creation of an ethnic state in the north and east
of that country inevitable
(Asian Tribune ; 15 July 2011).

Media and the
suffering of the Tamil people - By
Noel Nadesan Courtesy Daily Mirror - As a Tamil domiciled in Australia
I served the Tamil community by editing the only Tamil community
newspaper, UTHAYAM. I ran it for 14 years My experiences in dealing
with the Tamil community, both in Australia and in Sri Lanka, make me
feel sad about the callous way in which the media is exploiting the
suffering of our Tamil people for self-serving ends. I think I could
speak as an independent voice with no allegiances to the politics of
either community or political parties. My main concern has been to
help our Tamils in Sri Lanka who had to face the brunt of all attacks
from the Indians soldiers, Sri Lankan forces and, above all, the
so-called Tamil liberators, the LTTE. I have just completed building a
small hospital in the island of Eluvaitivu, in which I grew up and,
sooner or later, I plan to go back to serve our Tamil people who are
desperately in need of help. It is against this background that I
thought of forwarding my comments to you after viewing the
re-broadcast of Channel 4 programme, The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka.
I must confess I felt depressed and I could not sleep that night. I
have recovered since then and I feel I must send you my comments for
your consideration because I feel that you aired it to exploit the
suffering of our people whose need of the hour is not to rake up the
bloody past but to find a way out of the past (Lankaweb
; 14 July 2011).

UNCOHR
Ms N. Pillay unmask her true identity - by
Malin Abeyatunga - When I first read the news that one Ms Navenetham
Pillay (Navi Pillay) from South Africa has been appointed as UN
Commissioner for Human Rights, I was skeptical thinking another LTTE
supporter in the UN to back LTTE appeasing Ms Radhika Coomarswamy who
is the special representative for children and armed conflict. I was
skeptical because name Pillay sounded Tamilish (I am not a racist in
any way but anti LTTE) and she hails from South Africa a haven which
has a strong support base for LTTE activities from the Sri Lankan and
Indian Tamil habitants. However, I thought I should not pre-judge and
put her in the same boat of Radhika Coomaraswamy who always had and
has a soft corner for LTTE despite LTTEs continuation of abduction
and recruitment underage children for its baby brigade. We have not
forgotten her sending one of her stooges Alan Rock to Sri Lanka to
look into child conscription and made a mess out of it by blaming the
GoSL and not LTTE. Alas ! My skepticism on Ms N. Pillay has
now been proved right beyond any doubt when one peruses and analyzes
her recent comments on the current situation in the North. In her
recent statement, she had come out with unsubstantiated facts and
figures presumably obtained from LTTE propaganda websites and other
unreliable sources to blame the Sri Lankan Government and the armed
forces for the sufferings of Tamil civilians. Much has been said,
written and challenged by many journalists including Prof Rajiv
Wijesinghe of the Peace Secretariat and Foreign Secretary Dr Palitha
Kohana on her totally irresponsible and unprofessional
statement. She had subtly exposed her true sisterly feelings
towards LTTE by collating randomly picked unsubstantiated facts and
figures to undermine the Sri Lankan Government who are fighting the
most brutal and deadliest terrorist outfit in the world. By her
action, Ms Pillay has created big doubt in the minds of majority Sri
Lankans of her integrity as an impartial authority. Can such a person
with doubtful integrity hold a responsible position as Commissioner of
Human Rights? When a person of such authority and status issues
a statement, LTTE propaganda network taking advantage instantly and
carries them in their propaganda websites to blame the GoSL and the
armed forces. It is no surprise that her totally unprofessional
statement with borrowed data from Tamil websites and LTTE appeasing
humanitarian organizations like HRW and AI against the Sri Lankan
Government coincided with LTTE petitioning the UN to take action
against Sri Lankan Government for war crimes. Even if she says sorry
now, its too late as the damage is done as LTTE has already used
her comments to terrorists advantage (Sri
Lanka Guardian : 14 July 2011).

Children
and Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka: Palitha Kohona clears misconceptions
- By Daya Gamage - Presenting detailed underlying realities of child
soldiers and armed conflict in Sri Lanka that have been ignored by a
report released by the U.S.-based Conflict Dynamics International
which Sri Lankas envoy to the United Nations Dr. Palitha Kohona
described as an endeavor to stroke up embers of a bitter past and
politicize the issue of accountability related to child recruitment,
Sri Lanka told the U.N at an open debate at the Security Council July
12 that despite the impressive progress to end the child soldier era
Sri Lanka continues to remain on the Naming and Shaming List of
the UN Secretary Generals Annexes. Ambassador Kohona was quite
conscious of the fact that the misinformation and distortions of the
Conflict Dynamics International report feeds to the international
elements to strengthen their maneuvers to disrupt the Sri Lanka
governments initiation for reconciliation and consolidate peace
within the country since the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers in
May 2009 when he reminded the Security Council that in the final
stages of the conflict, children were thrown up in large numbers by
the LTTE as cannon fodder and more than one generation of children was
sacrificed to realize a megalomaniacs (referring to the LTTE leader
Prabhakaran) dream. Sri Lanka has serious reservations about the
Report of the Conflict Dynamics International that was launched under
the auspices of the Permanent Mission of Canada and the Permanent
Mission of Germany, Dr. Kohona said (Asian
Tribune ; 14 July 2011).

LTTE seeks removal from EU watch
list - In April the European wing of the
LTTE petitioned to reportedly seek the removal of the LTTE from the
European Union (EU) list of banned terrorist organisations the
petition has reportedly now been allowed to proceed by the European
Court of Justice. A Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told the
media that this was the first time that they have heard of an EU wing
of the LTTE although the LTTE presence in the region was fairly
strong. According to a statement the Foreign Ministry is closely
monitoring developments in the case (Sinhale
Hot News ; 14 July 2011).

KP flays
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, blames Nadesan for Prabhakarans
demise - By K.T.Rajasingham Colombo, 14
July, (Asiantribune.com): The Tamils of Sri Lanka pinned their hopes
and faith on the Tamil Nadu leaders, considered them as benefactors
and redeemers, but they have miserably failed to practice what they
preached. In the meantime, blame has been squarely placed on the
former LTTE political czar B. Nadesan for the demise of the LTTE
leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Kumaran Pathmanathan or simply called
KP blamed Nadesan for his lethargic approach and in the end
which led ultimately for the demise of the LTTE leader. South Indian
Tamil leaders including Chief Minister J.Jayalithaa and the former
Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi came up for a sharp criticism as Kumaran
Pathmanathan lambasted them, blood suckers, & Parasites,
who made use of the Sri Lankan Tamils miseries, to enhance their
selfish political agenda. He pointed out, while the Tamil Nadu leaders
wanted their State to remain intact with the Union of India, on the
contrary they vociferously advocates the bifurcation of Sri Lanka to
create a separate state of Tamil Eelam. He added on the whole, Tamil
Nadu leaders failed to live up to the expectations of the Sri Lankan
Tamil (Asian
Tribune ; 14 July 2011).

Doublespeak,
doublethink with regard to alleged attacks on hospitals - Darusman,
Weiss and Tamilnet at play - by Prof.
Rajiva Wijesinha, MP - The second great set piece of both the Darusman
Panel Report and Gordon Weisss book is the alleged attack on
Puthukkudiyirippu Hospital. The Report begins by claiming in Para 90
that PTK hospital was the only permanent hospital left in the Vanni,
and its neutrality was recognized by the Government and the LTTE...
More than 100 new patients were arriving each day, many from the NFZ.
Many had severe or life-threatening injuries caused by artillery fire
or burns.40 The casualties, many of them babies, young children and
the elderly, were packed in every conceivable space - on beds, under
tables, in hallways and outside in the driveway. It is claimed that
many photographs of this were relayed both to UN Headquarters and to
the Government (Daily
News ; 14 July 2011).

Response
to Elaine Pearson, Deputy Asia Director, HRW
- by Neville Ladduwahetty The issues raised by Deputy Asia Director of
Human Rights Watch, Elaine Pearson in Sri Lankas Diplomatic
Initiative Wont Make Killing Fields Disappear are based on
Channel 4's video and the report by an expert panel set up by the UN
Secretary General. Two commentators in the Channel 4 video namely,
Steve Cranshaw and Prof. William Schabas have judged the actions of
the Sri Lankan Government by the Rules of War. Therefore, this
response is addressed from the perspective of Rules of War
(LankaWeb : 13 July 2011).

No final decision
that decides the future destiny of the nation should be reached
without the approval at a referendum of the whole country
- Dr. Sudath Gunasekara President Mahanuwara Sinhala Bauddha
Sanvidhanaya 14.7.2011. The ugly and awesome ghost that is the 13th
Amendment that was based on the Indo-Sri Lankan Agreement of July 29th
1987 which I would call a veritable symbol of Indian imperialism,
expansionism and naked diplomatic invasion has again begun to
hover all over the skies of our beloved Motherland echoing fear,
terror and disaster. In the wake of this dreadful threat it had been
reported in the press that the President has decided to go for a
Select Committee of Parliament to evolve out a political solution to
the so-called ethnic problem that is supposed to exist in the North
and the East. It was also stated that the Select Committee is expected
to come out with a solution within a limited time frame that will be
implemented after approval by the Parliament. This could be the
confused reaction of a helpless government in front of the Indian
bullying and the so-called International threats. Does this
means the present government also, like what JR did treacherously in
1987, is preparing to offer a Dolapideni with the flesh and blood of
the whole nation on a platter to appease the Indian and the so-called
International Community in order to remain in power and go down in
history as another pack of treacherous politicians? It was under pain
of death threat J.R. Jayawardhana was compelled to sign the
Indo-Sri Lanka Pact amidst island wide protest organized by the main
opposition parties of the day like SLFP, MEP and JVP
(LankaWeb : 13 July 2011).

Lawsuit
against Rohan Gunaratna - The Canadian Tamil
Congress (CTC), which claims to represent over 300,000 Tamils of Sri
Lankan origin in Canada, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Sri
Lankan-born terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna. The lawsuit, filed here,
stems from his allegedly defamatory statements made against the
Canadian Tamil Congress in an interview to a Sri Lankan newspaper a
few months ago. In that interview to the local newspaper, Gunaratna
had alleged that the LTTE is "operating in Canada under the name
of the Canadian Tamil Congress, which is the main LTTE front
organization in Canada." An international terrorism expert who is
frequently seen on major global TV networks, Gunaratna is a professor
of security studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
In the interview, Gunaratna had also falsely said that the Canadian
government is investigating that the "LTTE is operating under the
name of Canadian Tamil Congress," the lawsuit says. According to
the lawsuit, Gunaratna's statements are defamatory and falsely portray
the Canadian Tamil Congress as an entity through which the LTTE has
conducted operations in Canada. David Poopalapillai, the national
spokesperson for the Canadian Tamil Congress, said, "While the
CTC's mission is to work with various levels of government in Canada
to address issues of significance to Tamil Canadians, it does not, and
never has, functioned as the front in Canada for the LTTE movement.
"The Canadian Tamil Congress brought this lawsuit to combat the
harm done to its reputation and ability to address issues of
importance to Tamil Canadians as a result of Gunaratna's
statements." Poopalapillai and Umasuthan Suntharamoorthy, who is
a director of the Canadian Tamil Congress, are plaintiffs in the
lawsuit. A statement by the Canadian Tamil Congress said, "Gunaratna
has been served with the statement of claim in Singapore but has not
yet defended the lawsuit. Lakbima News, which published the allegedly
defamatory interview with Gunaratna, is also a defendant and is aware
of the allegations against it." There are over 300,000 Tamils of
Sri Lankan origin in Canada, with most of them settled in the Toronto
area (Daily
Mirror : 13 July 2011).

Intercepted Tamil
ship was Canada-bound, Kenney says -
VANCOUVERA migrant ship carrying nearly 90 Sri Lankan Tamils that
was intercepted in Indonesian waters was heading to Canada,
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Tuesday. The MV Alicia remains
moored offshore after it was intercepted Saturday by Indonesian marine
police. The 87 people on board are reportedly refusing to leave the
vessel and have held up signs and flags indicating they want asylum in
New Zealand. The migrants told the BBC Tamil service that they are
refusing to leave before their safety can be guaranteed. But Kenney
said the MV Alicias planned destination was Canada. They will
often hedge their bets and its no secret that the large-scale
smuggling syndicates of this particular population of migrants
identify Canada as the softest target with the strongest pull factors,
Kenney said. The New Zealand government said the Sri Lankan refugees
were not planning to go there. In terms of the actual plans that
they had it doesnt appear they werent actually intending to come
here in the first place, New Zealand Immigration Minister Jonathan
Coleman told the New Zealand Herald. If you look at where these
boats have gone in the past theyve gone to a range of destinations.
Canadas pretty popular as is Australia. It is unclear whether
Canada, Australia or New Zealand asked the Indonesian government to
intercept the boat. Kenney said hes unable to discuss operational
details of how the MV Alicia came under Canadas radar. We have a
very good cooperation from the Indonesian authorities and we
appreciate their good work, he said. It was Indonesian
authorities who intercepted the vessel and brought it into port. Theyre
responsible for the disposition of the passengers aboard the ship.
Last August, 492 refugee claimants from Sri Lanka arrived off B.C.s
coast on board the MV Sun Sea. Ten months before in October, the Ocean
Lady, carrying 76 asylum seekers, was escorted to shore by Canadian
officials while heading toward B.C. No one has been convicted of
orchestrating the two voyages (The
Star ; 12 July 2011).

The road
through Athuruvaella to Point Pedro (Vak Thudaava) passes through
ancient Buddhist villages. Thus Gothamaluvaththa (Kaddupulan) is less
than a kilometer from Punnala (Ponnalai). Here excavations revealed a
pre-Christian temple complex. Many other ancient Buddhist sites are
within bicycling distance from here. Puththur, or Buthpura is another
ancient site whose antecedents are now forgotten. Navagiri (Navakkiri),
Nilavara (Nilavarai), Urapitiya (Uddupiddi), Puhuleliya (Puloli), and
Vaelipura (Allipuram) are other old towns not far from this route (LankaWeb
; 12 July 2011)

A note on Radhika
Coomaraswamys forwarding business - by
Malinda Seneviratne - Perhaps it is a language/literacy issue or
perhaps its some fundamental human trait, but a significant number
of people seem to believe that clicking the forward option in
email or mobile phone amounts to communication. Some words do go back
and forth. Sometimes other people say better what we want to express.
Still, it cant be just that, I feel. This world is made of
compulsive forwarders. Theres a lot of evidence in my inboxes.
Sharing is good, dont get me wrong. Some forwards do
illuminate, make my day and in general constitutes the passing around
of good news. Some, however, are tainted by mal-intent. Some indicate
ignorance. I suppose it takes all kinds to make this world (Daily
News : 13 July 2011).

LIKE THE WEST ASKING
SRI LANKA TO SUBMIT ITSELF TO AN INTERNATIONAL WAR CRIMES
INVESTIGATION, WE ASK THE CHANNEL FOUR TO SUBMIT ITSELF TO AN
IMPARTIAL INVESTIGATION ABOUT THE KILLING FIELDS OF SRI LANKA
VIDEO - MEDIA RELEASE  SRI LANKA
SUPPORT GROUP, CANBERRA - The Channel Four video has brought forth
immense disrepute to Sri Lanka and her people. It has depicted Sri
Lanka and its people as brutals. This is an unfortunate situation.
There had been worldwide condemnation of Sri Lanka. Based on this
video Governments have proclaimed their foreign policy on Sri Lanka
(such as the UK and Australia). Sri Lankan Government has vehemently
maintained its stand that its forces did not commit such brutal,
horrendous crimes and the video is unauthentic. We have shown 58
situations that very clearly show that the Channel Four video is not
authentic (please see our previous media releases). The most important
finding we highlight is that such a high quality video cannot be
produced by using mobile camera videos. Experts have stated that the
original videos have been edited to create the final video. It is
highly probable that some of the original videos may also have been
doctored. Then, many sceneries in the final video are stage managed
(produced using Tamil actors etc). Again, please see the 58 deceptions
that we identified in our previous write up
(LankaWeb : 12 July 2011).

Radhika stabs Sri
Lanka in the back again - H. L. D.
Mahindapala Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Under-Secretary General for
Children in Armed Conflict, was caught red-handed once again engaged
in anti-Sri Lankan activities. UN staff were shocked to find a daily
press review issued from her office propagandizing the controversial
footage of Channel 4 titled Killing Fields of Sri Lanka. In her
daily press review which she circulates within the UN she has gone out
of her way to announce that this video was going to be aired by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation  a deliberate move to
propagandize the ant-Sri Lankan footage among the UN and other
international agencies. Here is the text of the email sent to UN
staff: (LankaWeb
; 12 June 2011).

Response to Elaine
Pearson, Deputy Asia Director, HRW - by
Neville Ladduwahetty - The issues raised by Deputy Asia Director of
Human Rights Watch, Elaine Pearson in "Sri Lankas Diplomatic
Initiative Wont Make Killing Fields Disappear" are based on
Channel 4s video and the report by an expert panel set up by the UN
Secretary General. Two commentators in the Channel 4 video namely,
Steve Cranshaw and Prof. William Schabas have judged the actions of
the Sri Lankan Government by the "Rules of War". Therefore,
this response is addressed from the perspective of "Rules of
War" (Island
; 12 July 2011).

Bogus illegals
reached Indonesia 2 years ago-GoSL - By
Shamindra Ferdinando - In spite of the global community tightening
laws to tackle illegal immigration, organized criminal gangs continue
to exploit the domestic political situation in some countries to carry
out human smuggling operations. Sri Lankan officials say the recent
detection of 87 Sri Lankan men (76), women (6) and children (5) as
they were leaving Indonesia in MV Alicia is a case in point.
Defence and External Affairs sources told The Island that the majority
of them had left Sri Lanka over two years ago and sought refuge in
Indonesia. Sources said that the bottom line was that they were using
Indonesia as a transit point to reach Australia or some other Western
country. They alleged that criminal gangs were taking advantage of lax
security to launch ships carrying illegal immigrants. Since the
conclusion of the conflict in May 2009, there had been several
successful attempts to move Sri Lankan illegal immigrants, including
LTTE cadres, to developed countries. Intelligence sources said that at
least one of the ships which carried immigrants to Canada had begun
its journey in Indian territorial waters (Island
: 12 July 2011).

LLRC disputes Prof.
Wijesinghes response to BBC - LLRC
spokesperson Lakshman Wickramasinghe yesterday expressed concern about
a statement made by UPFA National List MP Prof. Rajiva Wijesinghe in
an interview with the BBC. The spokesman said: "The
Commission was indeed concerned about a comment made on its work by a
Government spokesman in a recent BBC programme. The Commission wishes
to reiterate that it has an independent mandate derived from the
Presidential Warrant dated 15 May 2010 and accordingly the content and
the pace of its work, including its work programme, are independent of
any wishes articulated by any spokesperson, Governmental or
non-governmental, here or abroad. The main determinant of the pace of
Commissions work is its commitment to be objective and as
comprehensive as possible in discharging its complex mandate. The
Commission therefore notes with regret the comment by the Governemnt
spokesman. The LLRC was responding to Wijesinghes reply to a
query by Stephen Sackur on BBC Hard Talk. Asked whether
Wijesinghe was satisfied with the way the LLRC was working, the
government spokesman said: I tend to believe it can go more quickly
than they do. I am critical about how slow they are but of course we
cant affect the Commission. I thought there should have been
another interim report and I said so but of course we cant affect
the Commission (Island
: 12 July 2011).

Patriot in a crate
and ingrates - Sri Lanka's 'patriots' let
out a howl of protest when British Defence Secretary Dr. Liam Fox, who
had agreed to deliver the Lakshman Kadirgamar memorial lecture a few
moons ago, backed out trotting out some lame excuses at the eleventh
hour in view of a diplomatic brouhaha following the cancellation of
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Oxford Union speech owing to violent
LTTE protests. He was flayed, insulted and even denounced as a Tiger
sympathiser. But, at long last he came here and delivered the promised
lecture on Saturday. Dr. Fox obviously exercised caution and
pulled punches in delivering his lecture, presumably not wanting to
incur the wrath of his ministerial colleagues well disposed towards
the LTTE rump, which claims to be able to deliver sizeable block votes
to British politicians prepared to prostitute their privileged
positions to further its interests politically and diplomatically. He
wove many things into his speech, which lacked focus as a result. It
may even have been a calculated move aimed at obfuscation!
Nevertheless, all in all, he paid a glowing tribute to his dear
departed friend, Kadirgamar (Island
; 12 July 2011).

The Killing Fields
of Sri Lankais proved a fake - ?by
Garvin Karunaratne, former Government Agent, Matara District - Channel
4 of the BBC has actually let the BBC down in terms of the hallowed
aims of the BBC: To enrich peoples lives with programmes and
services that inform, educate and entertain and the avowed values
of the BBC: Trust is the foundation of the BBC, we are independent,
impartial and honesty. Channel 4 of the BBC in an attempt to haul
the leaders of Sri Lanka before the International War Crime Courts,
had produced a film  The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka which was
shown on UK Television and given ample publicity, shown at Geneva, New
York and Australia, supported by Amnesty International and Human
Rights Organizations., This is not the first time that the BBC has
been partisan, totally misrepresented the real truth and has
sacrificed all its aims and values (LankaWeb
: 12 July 2011).

Navi Pillay coughs
again for dollars - Malin Abeyatunge
UNCOHR Ms N. PILLAY UMMASKS HER TRUE IDENTITY - When I first read the
news that one Ms Navenetham Pillay (Navi Pillay) from South Africa has
been appointed as UN Commissioner for Human Rights, I was skeptical
thinking another LTTE supporter in the UN to back LTTE appeasing Ms
Radhika Coomarswamy who is the special representative for children and
armed conflict. I was skeptical because name Pillay sounded Tamilish
(I am not a racist in any way but anti LTTE) and she hails from South
Africa a haven which has a strong support base for LTTE activities
from the Sri Lankan and Indian Tamil habitants. However, I thought I
should not pre-judge and put her in the same boat of Radhika
Coomaraswamy who always had and has a soft corner for LTTE despite
LTTEs continuation of abduction and recruitment underage children
for its baby brigade. We have not forgotten her sending one of her
stooges Alan Rock to Sri Lanka to look into child conscription and
made a mess out of it by blaming the GoSL and not LTTE (LankaWeb
; 12 July 2011).

A roadway crammed
with history: Jaapanaya (Jaffna)-Athuruvaella (Atchuvel)-Vakthuduva
(Point Pedro) - by Chandre Dharmawardana
- A new item carried in several newspapers (12-July-2011) says that
the Jaffna-Atchuveli-Point Pedro route was re-opened to the public
yesterday after 28 years. It was closed for general traffic from 1983
after terrorists destroyed the Thondaman Aru bridge. The Thondaman
referred to in Thondaman-aru was Karunagaran Thondaman, a Chola
minister who explored the possibility of exporting salt from North Sri
Lanka to the Chola Kingdom. Most people are aware that the name Jaa-panaya
originally signified the Javanese village that came into being after
Chandrabhanu a Javanese ruler from Tambralinga invaded Sri Lanka in
the 13th Century CE. His armies landed in Gokanna (Trincomalee), and
used blow pipes and poisoned arrows against local armies. He ruled the
peninsula for three decades (LankaWeb
; 12 July 2011).

Jaffna
will get its lost glory once again

Statement by External
Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris in Parliament on July 7 in reply to
Chief Opposition Whip: A deliberate
attempt to distort the truth The UNP must have the courage of its
convictions: Continued from yesterday ; About four days before my
official meeting with her in my capacity as Sri Lankas Minister of
International Trade, there was a letter sent under the signature of
Ranil Wickremasinghe telling Benita Ferrero Waldner that Sri Lanka was
in breach of her obligations under the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, that Sri Lanka was not in compliance and did not
qualify for the extension of the GSP Plus facility. This was a letter
which was given to me by the Ranil Wickremasinghes own side.
Because of the internal situation, this letter that was written to the
Foreign Minister of the European Union was placed in my hands and I
tabled it on the Floor of this House. Not only that, I tabled on the
Floor of this House an interview that was given to The Hindu
newspaper by Ranil Wickremasinghe where he openly, unabashedly,
shamelessly calls upon the UN and the West to intervene directly in
this country. This is unique behavior, Mr. Speaker. I say this not in
anger, but with deep sadness (Daily
News ; 12 July 2011).

HRW tells US
President: Probe Bush administration human rights violations US has
legal obligations to probe crimes. If US doesnt act, other
countries should: Human Rights Watch (HRW)
has called upon US President Barrack Obama to investigate allegations
of detainee abuse authorized by former US President George W. Bush
while stating that there should be no double standards on issues of
human rights abuses. It claimed in a report published on its website
that overwhelming evidence of torture has surfaced obliging current
President Obama to order a criminal investigation into the
allegations. It further added that the US was right to call for
justice over allegations in places like Darfur, Libya and Sri Lanka
but that there should be no double standards as the shielding of its
own officials makes it easier for others to dismiss global efforts to
bring violators to justice. The report on the HRW website said, among
other things - Overwhelming evidence of torture by the Bush
administration obliges President Barack Obama to order a criminal
investigation into allegations of detainee abuse authorized by former
President George W. Bush and other senior officials. The Obama
administration has failed to meet US obligations under the Convention
against Torture - to investigate acts of torture and other
ill-treatment of detainees. The 107-page report, Getting Away with
Torture: The Bush Administration and Mistreatment of Detainees,
presents substantial information warranting criminal investigations of
Bush and senior administration officials, including former Vice
President Dick Cheney, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and CIA
Director George Tenet, for ordering practices such as waterboarding,
the use of secret CIA prisons, and the transfer of detainees to
countries where they were tortured
(Daily News : 12 July 2011).

Jaffna will get
lost glory - Economic Development
Minister Basil Rajapaksa said that once the major development work
being carried out in the North under the initiative of President
Mahinda Rajapaksa is completed, Jaffna will get its lost glory once
again. Minister Rajapaksa gave this promise when he addressed a
ceremony to distribute micro credit and essential items among the
public in the Jaffna district. A total of 852 persons received micro
loans between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000 each, under the livelihood
development projects. The projects were launched by the Northern
Co-operatives and Local Government Ministry under the supervision of
Northern Governor G A Chandrasiri. Minister Rajapaksa said that during
the last two years, 16,000 persons have received loan facilities under
the livelihood project. Another 5,000 will receive loan facilities
under the Gemi Diriya project in Jaffna next year, he said. The
minister explaining the background the prompted this loan scheme to be
introduced, said that the government has adopted a policy of
developing the nation by developing the family and the individuals
before the family. It is the governments intention to develop
the individuals first, and the through the individuals the family and
the country would be developed later. As the governments
contribution to large scale development work, the expressways, airport
and seaports, power stations, hospitals are being developed, the
minister said. These large scale development projects will help the
government to create development in the Northern Province to meet the
demands of next five to ten years. Jaffna will get three main highway
connectivity, one is the main A 9 highway with six lanes and the
second is the A 35 via Sangupiddy and the third will be from the East
via Mullaitivu. For the first time, Jaffna district is to be linked
with the national grid to ensure 24 hour power supply, the minister
said. The minister invited the people to be active participants of
these development work by supporting the governments efforts
without going behind bankrupt politicians who oppose governments
projects. Minister Douglas Devananda and Northern Governor G A
Chandrasiri also spoke (Daily
News : 12 July 2011).

SL wants
Fox to take up UNICEF missing children report with LTTE;
As shadow Defence Minister, Conservative MP backed SL military
campaign against terrorists - By
Shamindra Ferdinando - The government expects the UK to take up the
issue of child combatants with the UK-based Global Tamil Forum (GTF)
and other LTTE front organisations operating in the country. Defence
Ministry and External Affairs Ministry sources told The Island that
those demanding an international probe into accountability issues in
Sri Lanka couldnt ignore the child combatants issue. Their
position is that the LTTE front organisations, which had raised funds
overseas to procure armaments, should be held accountable for war
crimes committed by the LTTEs military leadership. An
investigation by Dutch police and judiciary has established a direct
link between the LTTE fighting cadre in Sri Lanka and its sponsors in
the Netherlands, Norway and the US. Sri Lanka supported the Dutch
investigation by giving investigators access to confidential data and
Kumaran Pathmanathan aka KP. Since KP was arrested in Malaysia and
brought to Colombo in August 2009, the Netherlands has been the first
country to gain access to Velupillai Prabhakarans successor. The
government on Saturday (9) handed over a UNICEF report, which dealt
with post-war efforts to locate missing children in the Northern and
Eastern Provinces to Dr. Liam Fox, MP, UK Secretary of State for
Defence, when the visiting Minister paid a courtesy call on President
Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees. External Affairs Minister Prof. G.
L. Peiris, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and Defence
Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa attended the meeting. Defence Secretary
Rajapaksa handed over a copy of the UNICEF report to Dr. Fox. The
British politician was here to deliver the fifth Lakshman Kadirgamar
memorial lecture in Colombo
(Island ; 11 June 2011).

Chennai-Trinco ferry
service put off - The Chennai-based AMET
Shippings plan to start a Chennai-Trincomalee cruise has been
postponed indefinitely because the necessary approvals from the Indian
and Sri Lankan governments have not been acquired yet, says Capt Nalin
Peiris, general sales agent for the cruise in Sri Lanka. The cruise,
using the luxury liner AMET Majesty, was to have been inaugurated on
July 4. Peiris told Express on Sunday that the Indo-Lanka agreement on
shipping services referred to the Thoothukudi-Colombo and the
Rameswaram-Thalaimannar ferry services, and not services between other
ports in the two countries. "We were under the impression that we
could start the service because there was no explicit ban on any other
service. But a month ago, we discovered that approvals were necessary,
and we applied. We were expecting the approvals to come through before
July 4 but they did not. We are confident that they will come through
however," Peiris said (Island
; 11 July 2011).

STF recovers Sea
Tiger equipment - The Special Task Force (STF)
deployed in Mullaitivu over the weekend found two damaged Yamaha 250
hp outboard motors belonging to Sea Tigers at Selvipuram. A
spokesperson for the STF told The Island that the two OBMs could have
been damaged in a confrontation with the navy during the last phase of
the military offensive
(Island : 11 July 2011).

Lakshman Kadirgamar:
A brave man who enriched public life with principle and integrity
- KADIRGAMAR MEMORIAL LECTURE Speech by British Secretary of State for
Defence, Dr Liam Fox on July 09, 2001- It was 16 years ago that I
first met Lakshman Kadirgamar. In 1995 I was the new Parliamentary
Undersecretary of State at the British Foreign Office and he was the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, here in Sri Lanka. An accomplished
lawyer, sportsman and politician, there was virtually no subject on
which he did not have an informed opinion or an interesting anecdote.
In the time that we worked together we became close colleagues as well
as good friends. He was a kind, thoughtful and brave man who enriched
public life with principle and integrity. My involvement in Sri Lanka
began during a visit to Vavuniya. I remember standing outside a
refugee camp where a little boy, perhaps three or four years old and
with a very badly damaged left leg, held his hand out through the
gate. I remember the look, to this day, on his face-innocent, hopeful
but sad. I asked the official with me what we in the UK were doing to
help. And the answer was "it is not our sphere of influence"
(Island
: 11 July 2011).

'Others can't solve
our problems' - Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh has, addressing a regional conference in Delhi
recently, stressed the need for South Asia to battle terrorism without
external help. He is sanguine about the region's potential to achieve
prosperity. A concerted effort is called for to address the numerous
frictions within the region, he has said. One could not agree with the
Indian premier more. External powers that reach out to this part of
the world only peddle their hidden agendas on the pretext of helping
solve the problem of terrorism etc. The remedies they prescribe or ram
down our throats prove to be far worse than the maladies. How the West
wanted Sri Lanka's terrorism tackled is a case in point. If this
country had adhered to their roadmap for a 'negotiated settlement' and
continued to appease the LTTE, it would have faced the same fate as
Sudan. Perhaps, it would have been cut in half like a melon much
earlier. Most of the foreign powers involved in Sri Lanka's peace
process which was heavily weighted in favour of the LTTE were
instrumental in creating the world's newest state, South Sudan, now in
control of three quarters of the Sudanese oilfields, to which the West
will have easy access. (It is not just for licking one's fingers that
one harvests honey from a beehive, it is said in this country.) (Island
; 12 July 2011).

ABC's
Four Corners Program on "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields" - The
Facts and Fallacies

SL
asylum seekers not welcome in NZ - The
Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key says 85 Sri Lankan asylum
seekers who have been detained on their way to New Zealand are not
welcome. The asylum seekers were detained by Indonesian police and
have been anchored in the waters of Tanjung Pinang since Saturday.
They are reportedly refusing to abandon ship. Passengers on board the
ship have been photographed holding signs reading We like to go to
New Zealand, Our future life is in New Zealand and We need
New Zealand. John Key said that he was aware of the asylum seekers
situation, but that New Zealand would not be helping. I understand
that some of those asylum seekers are holding flags or signs that say
they might want to come to New Zealand, and our very simple message to
them is they are not welcome. They claim that they are not illegal
immigrants but refugees who need New Zealands help, and have also
requested the assistance of the United Nations (Daily
Mirror : 11 July 2011).

Tamil diaspora male
caught in credit card fraud - UK A Tamil
diaspora male has been sentenced after ripping off hundreds of
customers at a petrol station where he worked in Merseyside, England.
Murugaiya Selvakumaran, 36, swapped the chip and pin machines at a
Murco petrol station in Wallasey with card readers which allowed
international criminals to copy customers' cards and make fraudulent
withdrawals. The fraud only came to light towards the end of February
2009 when banks began to tell their clients they were victims of
41,500 of illegal transactions. In total, 517 credit and debit cards
were compromised. The petrol station, in Leasowe Road, is run by a Sri
Lankan family but they were not related to Selvakumaran, who gave them
a fake name when he moved to Wirral from Middlesex. Jo Maxwell,
prosecuting, told Warrington crown court yesterday: "Some 200
customers of the Murco store contacted Merseyside police to let them
know that a fraud had taken place. "Their investigations, and
extensive CCTV, showed all the transactions had taken place during
shifts when Mr Selvakumaran was at work." The court heard CCTV
showed him swapping the pin machines for the card readers, which were
never recovered. Ms Maxwell added Selvakumaran, who has lived in the
UK for nine years, was an illegal immigrant who had exhausted all
legal options to stay and had his work visa revoked. Ken Heckle,
defending, said: "He was not the brains of the operation and he
has not benefited. "This money went to other people more
criminally sophisticated than himself." Selvakumaran, who was
assisted at court by a Tamil interpreter, was caught by police in
Surrey on an unrelated matter in March, the Liverpool Echo reported
(Sri Lanka Defence Ministry : 11 July 2011).

Channel
4 Documentary: Sri Lankas Killing Fields
- By Lt Col (Retd.) Anil Amarasekera - Much has been written about the
Channel 4 documentary - Sri Lankas killing fields. John Snows
commentary in this documentary speaks out with much vengeance against
Sri Lanka and sounds very much like borrowed words from the Tamil net.
One is left to wonder if his animosity against Sri Lanka is a result
of some journalist from Channel 4 including Jonathan Millar being
deported from Sri Lanka for trying to produce a falsely concocted
documentary film in April 2009 on the situation in Sri Lanka.
Allegations on war crimes and crimes against humanity are serious and
must be proved beyond reasonable doubt with foolproof evidence before
they are published on paper or broadcast on television channels. To do
so using gruesome video clips received from various questionable
sources where the perpetrators cannot be identified convincingly and
in which the date or place where the alleged incident had occurred is
uncertain is just not journalism that a reputed organization such as
Channel 4 should produce. One is also left wondering as to why Channel
4 repeats broadcasting the same video clip each time there is some
important gathering at the United Nations. Is it because they believe
in the Goebbellian theory that a lie repeated many times over will be
accepted as the truth? Or is it because some of the employees of
Channel 4 have been bought over by LTTE, which though annihilated in
Sri Lanka, is still very much alive internationally (Asian
Tribune ; 11 July 2011).

Major road in North
opened after 28 years - by Irangika RANGE
- The Atchchuvely-Thondamannaru Road in the Jaffna peninsula was
reopened to the public after 28 years by Economic Development Minister
Basil Rajapaksa last morning. Addressing the gathering at the
reopening ceremony, Minister Rajapaksa said due credit must be given
to our public servants and Security Forces led by Jaffna. Security
Forces Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe for their
systematic and planned arrangements which resulted in reopening the
road which had been closed from 1983 on schedule. The improvement of
infrastructure facilities after gradual removal of the High Security
Zones in the North by the government has greatly helped the resettled
people to restart their own income generation activities without any
hassle. All required facilities including housing and sanitary
facilities will be provided for the benefit of the resettled people,
the Minister said. The reopening of this main road will reduce travel
distance between Point Pedro to Atchchuvely by 15 kilometers, he
pointed out. The Atchchuvely-Thondamannaru road will be another easy
access road for devotees who will be taking part in the foot
pilgrimage from the Thondamannaru Kovil to Kataragama
(Daily News : 11 July 2011).

Kilinochchi, Jaffna
degradable refuse to be converted into compost manure
- by Nethali Struys - A programme is underway to convert degradable
refuse in Kilinochchi and Jaffna districts into compost manure.
The compost being produced will be sold at a reasonable price to
farmers. This is being carried out parallel to the Pilisaru programme
launched by the Jaffna Municipal Council and Chavakachcheri Town
Council including all Local Government institutions of the area under
the guidance of the Central Environment Authority. A special
workshop will be held in Jaffna on July 16 in this regard under the
patronage of Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa. Taking
part in the preliminary discussion in Jaffna last week, Traditional
Industries and Small Enterprises Development Minister Douglas
Devananda said that Cabinet approval had been granted to extend this
special programme of converting degradable waste to compost manure in
three years. He said that waste disposal had become a major
issue in the country. All Local Government institutions should
finalize their project proposals without delay and submit them to the
Central Environment Authority, the minister said (Daily
News ; 11 July 2011).

Britain's News
Scandal - By Malin Abeyatunga, Melbourne,
Australia - Britain News of the World scandal has been most spoken
topic in the west these days. It exposes how the media operates to
achieve their own agenda, whom they buy, spying and preying on
individuals, corruption among the media moguls, journalists, the
police, politicians etc. at the expense of the so called freedom of
expression in a democracy. The latest NOTW scandal shows to
what extent the media has denigrated in UK. This is not only true with
the print media but electronic media in UK as well. The case in point
is the latest screening of a fiction film called Sri Lankas
killings in an attempt to bash Sri Lankan efforts to reach
reconciliation among the Sinhalese and the Tamils. Even though the
Channel 4 claims the documentary to be authenticated, when the images
and footage are analyzed, it shows a compilation and manufactured
images to suit the agenda of the financiers (alleged Tamil Diaspora)
producers, Directors and the telecasters. It is a FAKE. There
have been hundreds of complaints received by the Ofcom (The UK
Governments Office of Communications) that it was misleading
and misrepresentative and they are investigating into the ethical side
of it. But the law enforcement authorities should investigate the
financial side of it as to who funded, who benefited out of this Fake
documentary against Sri Lanka. Who knows some truth will come out like
the News Of The World scandal (Sri
Lanka News Online : 10 July 2011).(LankaWeb
: 10 July 2011).

KP
rehabilitated, says Keheliya ...... What
????

KP rehabilitated,
says Keheliya - By S. Selvakumar -
Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP a former arms procurer for the LTTE was
under rehabilitation and the government felt that he has now been
somewhat fully rehabilitated, Cabinet spokesman and Information and
Media Minister Kheliya Rambukwella told the weekly Cabinet press
briefing. He said that he realized this fact from a recent statement
made by KP to the effect that Eelam was only a dream and it was the
duty of the Tamil diaspora to help the people of the North to lead a
normal life. Rambukwella commenting on the Channel 4 fiasco said
that 7,000 LTTE suspects who either surrendered or arrested have been
rehabilitated since the end of the war and under such circumstances he
cannot understand why the Sri Lanka Army should separate four or five
cadres and shoot them to death. Legal action is being pursued
against Channel 4 telecast and the relevant authorities were already
at it, the Minister said. Government has decided to allocate a sum
of Rs. 505.2 million to improve the water supply to Madhu Church in
the Mannar district where an estimated 450,000 pilgrims were expected
to encamp in the Church premises. This would be done in two stages and
the first stage to be completed this year was estimated to cost Rs.
101.4 million, Rambukwella revealed (The
Nation ; 10 July 2011).

Would
it be possible to rehabilitate a hardcore criminal like KP (the leader
of LTTE) ?

Whats the
solution? - PSC or the 13th Amendment ? -
Many solutions have been put forward by different political parties
and different governments over the decades for the ethnic problem in
the country. They range from Bandaranaike  Chelvanayagam Pact,
Dudley  Chelvanayagam Pact to the UPFA governments Parliamentary
Select Committee proposal which is the latest. Parallel to this, has
always been the parties who have opposed the measures or suggestions
that have been brought up over the decades. The Nation talks to a
cross section of political entities that have been vocal on this issue
 to ask what their solutions to the problem will be (The
Nation : 10 July 2011).

Misleading viewers
with Channel 4 fiction - By Malin
Abeyatunge - Amidst hundreds of oral and written protests by the Sri
Lankan community in Australia, its appalling that the ABC telecast
the fiction film clip titled Sri Lankas killing fields
borrowed from an unethical broadcaster from UK- Channel 4. Even though
the Channel 4 is a public TV funded by the Tax payers, Channel 4 is
alleged to be in the edge of bankruptcy and telecasting this clip
would have bought them out of the RED presumably by LTTE funding. The
clip which was broadcast by the ABC is controversial and contentious
for the following reasons: (The
Nation : 10 July 2011).

Channel 4 video not
an isolated event: Kohona - By Dinidu de
Alwis - Dr. Palitha Kohona, Sri Lankas permanent representative to
the United Nations, talks to The Nation, during a brief visit to
Colombo, about propaganda campaigns, growing international pressure,
and the response by the Sri Lankan government which repeatedly refuses
the call for an international inquiry  at a time when international
pressure is mounting on the Sri Lankan government to launch an inquiry
into alleged war crimes during the final phases of the war (The
Nation : 10 July 2011).

LIKE THE WEST ASKING
SRI LANKA TO SUBMIT ITSELF TO AN INTERNATIONAL WAR CRIMES
INVESTIGATION, WE ASK THE CHANNEL FOUR TO SUBMIT ITSELF TO AN
IMPARTIAL INVESTIGATION ABOUT THE KILLING FIELDS OF SRI LANKA
VIDEO - MEDIA RELEASE SRI LANKA SUPPORT GROUP, CANBERRA
- The Channel Four video has brought forth immense disrepute to Sri
Lanka and her people. It has depicted Sri Lanka and its people as
brutals. This is an unfortunate situation. There had been worldwide
condemnation of Sri Lanka. Based on this video Governments have
proclaimed their foreign policy on Sri Lanka (such as the UK and
Australia). Sri Lankan Government has vehemently maintained its stand
that its forces did not commit such brutal, horrendous crimes and the
video is unauthentic. We have shown 58 situations that very clearly
show that the Channel Four video is not authentic (please see our
previous media releases). The most important finding we highlight is
that such a high quality video cannot be produced by using mobile
camera videos. Experts have stated that the original videos have been
edited to create the final video. It is highly probable that some of
the original videos may also have been doctored. Then, many sceneries
in the final video are stage managed (produced using Tamil actors
etc). Again, please see the 58 deceptions that we identified in our
previous write up. Channel Four states it received the videos from a
group of ex- Sri Lankan journalists now living in Europe. It is well
known that they are an anti-Sri Lankan Government group. Then, this
group states it received the videos from various sources such as the
Tamil Diaspora and the trophy photos taken by the Sri Lankan Army
(LankaWeb : 10 July 2011).

Combat terrorism
without outside help: Indian PM -
Emphasising the need for the South Asia region to prosper as a whole,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday highlighted the dangers
posed by terrorism in the region and called for greater efforts to
fight it. "The scourge of terrorism has [already] taken a huge
toll on all our societies. It is a cancer that, if not checked, will
consume us all. I would like to believe that we have the will and
foresight to prevent such an outcome." Inaugurating a conference
of Speakers and Parliamentarians of SAARC (South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation) countries, Dr. Singh stressed the need to
develop a "culture" for resolving the problems of the region
by the countries themselves, instead of depending on
outsiders."South Asia cannot realise its full potential until and
unless we solve our differences peacefully and develop the culture of
solving our problems ourselves. Others cannot solve our problems for
us." Emphasising that India remained firmly committed to the
principles and ideals of SAARC, Dr. Singh said it would go the
"extra mile" to make it an effective organisation that
benefited all the citizens of the region (Island
: 10 July 2011).

BOOK REVIEW  THE
CAGE BY GORDON WEISS - by Anil Perera -
Gordon Weisss book is well written. He has used his skills as a
journalist to sensationalise and present his version of the Fight
for Sri Lanka and the Last Days of Tamil Tigers in a readable and
interesting manner to achieve his purpose  to vilify Sri Lanka and
Sinhalese and at the same time promoting a number of 40,000
civilian deaths in the last stages of the conflict, not by giving
any information on how he arrived at this fictitious number, but by
leading the unsuspecting readers through a number of chapters
vilifying Sinhalese and the Sri Lankan armed forces so that they
accept any number dished out by Weiss (LankaWeb
; 10 July 2011).

My lords, ladies
and gentlemen has ganged up against Sri Lanka
- Herold Leelawardena In a press statement issued following the
APPGT/GTF parliamentary reception this week Chairman for the British
all party parliamentary Group for Tamils, Lee Scott MP, said the
event was a great success, attended by over 40 Members of Parliament
including Government Ministers, Shadow Ministers, Lords,
representatives of NGOs and High Commissions. This kind of
statement from my lords, ladies and gentlemen in the UK is of no
surprise for us for they were the very people that invented the word
good-terrorists to separate their boot licking sycophants
killers and suicide bombing inventors like Annai Bala and his wife
Adele from being listed under their own terrorist list. That lot
provided protection and abodes for selected terrorists in London so
that their chosen servants could have easy access to the so-called
international media to cover-up its murderous activities, child
soldiering and other HR violations. They got their poodle Norwegians
to promote a sham peace treaty to expand and legitimise terrorists
real estate and to seek the right to our sea. But when they realised
Velu is no puppet and cannot be controlled, they tightened the screws
around his neck and let him sink to hell (LankaWeb
; 10 July 2011).

Next move: go forward
or back to 1976 Vadukoddai? - by H. L. D.
Mahindapala - Wars are evil exercises that must be avoided at any
cost. But history tells us that wars are also unavoidable. From time
to time, wars occur to win over-ambitious goals going beyond
established political and territorial borders or to eliminate or
neutralize enemies that threaten national interests. This is the short
term goal of wars. The long-term objective of wars is to define and
reinforce national identities, boundaries and values. The Sri Lankan
government launched a counter-terrorist war to reinforce the national
identity, territorial boundaries and the democratic political values.
The Jaffna Tamil leadership which launched the Vadukoddai War gambled,
throwing all their financial, international, local and military might
to achieve their separatist goals, based on fictitious geography and
concocted history as outlined in the Vadukoddai Resolution of 1976,
and lost. They lost ignominiously partly because the Tamil people lost
faith in their leaders and ran way from them even when their leaders
were shooting at them for running away from a lost cause. A great
responsibility now lies on the shoulders of the Tamil leadership in
taking the next step. The question they have to answer is simple: is
there a future in going back to the failed past? After the debacle in
Nandikadal in May 2009 is there any sense in dragging the Jaffna Tamil
people once again to Vadukoddai of May 1976? President Mahinda
Rajapakse too is under great pressure from the defeated remnants of
the Vadukoddai ideology to go back to 1976  the year in which the
Jaffna Tamils declared war against the rest of the nation in the
Vadukoddai Resolution. The violence unleashed by the Jaffna Tamil
leadership in the Vadukoddai Resolution killed more Jaffna Tamils than
any other forces put together, according to declared statements of
Jaffna Tamil leaders. So what can the Jaffna Tamils gain by going back
to Vadukoddai of 1976? (LankaWeb
; 10 July 2011).

This
is not a Tele-drama in Sri Lanka. This is how LTTE Tamil Tiger
Terrorists fooled the entire world in their mis-information campaign.

Photo 1 : A
photo that appeared in Western media and Tamil Net (LTTE website) in
May 2009 to tell the world of "shelling of innocent Tamil
civilians in the NFZ by Sri Lankan army" . See Photo 2 published
below.

Photo 2 (Unedited version) :
However, what was hidden from the world was revealed when the Sri
Lankan army later found this in LTTE propaganda material. The unedited
photo shows that this was a staged LTTE propaganda stunt. Look at the
smiling girl with a professional camera and the men who are not
affected by the "shelling" in the background. This is how
the LTTE used women and children to and act to fool the West.
Obviously more than one camera was in operation (Click
here to read more about LTTE's mis-information campaign PDF).
(Web Version)

High Profile Tiger
Arrested In Malaysia - By Easwaran Rutnam
- Malaysia has informed Sri Lanka it has arrested an LTTE accomplice
and he is now being questioned by Malaysian security officials,
Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told The Sunday Leader. The Minister said
that once the interrogation is completed the Malaysian authorities
will update Sri Lanka. Responding to a statement made by UNP MP John
Amaratunga in parliament on Thursday, External Affairs Minister G.L
Peiris said that an official with links to the LTTE had been arrested
in Malaysia this week but did not elaborate further. The Minister did
not mention the name of the LTTE official who was arrested or say if
he is now in Sri Lankan custody. When contacted by The Sunday Leader
Sri Lankas High Commissioner to Malaysia Dr. D. D. Ranasinghe said
that he has not been informed of such an arrest. Director General of
the government Media Center for National Security (MCNS) Lakshman
Hullugale also said he was also not aware of such an arrest. Former
LTTE chief arms procurer Kumaran Padmanathan is the most high profile
LTTE official to have been arrested in Malaysia so far (Sunday
Leader ; 10 July 2011).

War of the
invisible enemy- UK Defence Secy - We all
have a stake in combatting terrorism Lakshman Kadirgamar would have
investigated HR violations - The following is the 5th Lakshman
Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture delivered by Dr. Liam Fox, MP, Secretary
of State for Defence of the United Kingdom, yesterday, at the Sri
Lanka Foundation Auditorium in Colombo. It was 16 years ago that I
first met Lakshman Kadirgamar. In 1995 I was the new Parliamentary
Undersecretary of State at the Foreign Office and he was the Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka. An accomplished lawyer, sportsman and
politician, there was virtually no subject on which he did not have an
informed opinion or an interesting anecdote. In the time that we
worked together we became close colleagues and good friends. He was a
kind, thoughtful and brave man who enriched public life with principle
and integrity. My involvement in Sri Lanka began during a visit to
Vavuniya. I remember standing outside a refugee camp where a little
boy, perhaps three or four years old and with a badly damaged left
leg, held his hand out through the gate. I remember the look on his
face-innocent, hopeful and sad. I asked the official with me what we
in Britain were doing to help. I was told "it is not our sphere
of influence minister". That is when I decided to try to help a
country which has fascinated and frustrated me ever since, but where
the friendships I made have endured. Since that time political
opportunities have presented themselves and have been missed when
personal interests have taken precedence over national interests. Too
much time has been wasted, too many chances missed, too much blood
spilled
(Sunday Times ; 10 July 2011).

Consular Mobile
Service in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu on 13th & 14th July, 2011
- On an initiative taken by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Ministry
of External Affairs will conduct a Consular Mobile Service in
Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu to provide consular facilities to the
public in the Northern Region. The planned Consular Mobile Service
under the guidance of Prof. G. L. Peiris, Minister of External
Affairs, and with the participation of the Deputy Minister Neomal
Perera, will be conducted in Kilinochchi at the Government Agent's
(GA) office on Wednesday 13th and in Mullaitivu at the GA's office on
Thursday 14th, July, 2011. The Mobile Service will be held from 9.00
a.m. to 3.30 p.m. on both days (Sri
Lanka Defense Ministry ; 10 July 2011).

Four Dutch Tamils
directly linked to LTTE  Prosecutor -
Four Dutch men of Sri Lankan origin who were arrested in Amsterdam
last year had direct links with the LTTE, Dutch prosecutors said
yesterday. The LTTE has been listed as a terrorist organisation by the
EU since 2006. The four Tamils who are currently on trial in the
Netherlands, are accused of extorting money from other Dutch Tamils.
At the trial in The Hague, the prosecutor said the four men were also
charged for organising illegal lotteries (with all proceeds going to
the LTTE) and for being a member of a criminal and terrorist
organisation. The four suspects who appeared in court are said to have
registered all Tamil families living in the Netherlands, including
details on who is paying money to the LTTE and who isnt. Those who
do pay money are often forced into doing so, according to the
prosecutor. The prosecutor stressed the fact that the Tigers are a
violent and ruthless organisation, who fought a war with the Sri
Lankan government with bomb attacks and other forms of serious
violence, while recruiting and deploying child soldiers. Around 10,000
of the Tamil diaspora currently live in the Netherlands
(Sunday Observer : 10 July 2011).

TNA should relax
its rigid stance: Unite for a common proposal, says PLOTE leader -
by P. Krishnaswamy - PLOTE leader Dharmalingam Sitharthan welcomed
EPDP leader Minister Douglas Devanandas call to the TNA to unite
with the other Tamil parties to put forward a common proposal to
President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He also endorsed Devanandas statement,
made in Parliament recently that the President would certainly
consider such a proposal since he has repeatedly called for it.
Devananda told Parliament that considering the decades-long suffering
and losses of the Tamils he was making a sincere and brotherly request
to the TNA to relax its rigid stance and try reach a consensus with
the other Tamil parties on evolving a common proposal to be presented
to the President. Devananda too had been attracted earlier by the
rhetoric of heroism and freedom struggle but later realised the folly
of it after seeing the untold losses and extreme hardships experienced
by the people, he said. Sitharthan said that evolving a common
proposal is the dire need of the hour to address the Tamil issue
without any further delay. They had made efforts towards that end and
the Tamil Parties Forum was formed (Sunday
Observer : 10 July 2011).

All IDPs to be
resettled by year's end - by L.S. Ananda
WEDAARACHCHI - The resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
in Northern and Eastern Provinces will be completed before the end of
this year, said Resettlement Minister Gunaratna Weerakoon. He said
only 3,822 families comprising 12,616 individuals in Kilinochchi
district are yet to be resettled. Over 300,000 IDPs from Trincomalee,
Batticaloa, Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaitivu and Jaffna districts have
been resettled in their villages during the last 24 months. The
Minister said essential food packs each worth over Rs.4,500 totalling
Rs.3.7 million were also donated to them, when they left their
temporary shelters. Over 257,733 persons had been resettled in
Vavuniya, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Jaffna districts during
the last few months. Essential food and construction material were
also provided. Further relief will be provided to them until they
revert to agriculture, fisheries or small industries which they had
been engaged in earlier, he said. Resettlement in the Eastern Province
has been completed. Accordingly, 36,123 families with 123,907 persons
had resettled in Vavunathir, Venkaladi, Kiran, Pattipalei, Wellaveli
and Vakarai divisional secretaries divisions. Over 20,395 families
with 75,190 persons in Trincomalee district had been resettled in
Verugal, Muttur and Seruwila divisional Secretaries divisions (Sunday
Observer : 10 July 2011).

Channel 4
perpetuating lies and half-truths, to have a natural death
- By K.T.Rajasingham - Channel - 4 continues to perpetuate lies
and half-truths, expected to fold soon. British media excess will
follow soon the plight of News of the World, which was in
existence for the last 168 years. The TV channel, which is
involved in shaming Sri Lanka, exploiting the peoples miseries and
challenging a sovereign nation of 20 million people with concocted
video images, expected to follow suit soon the News of the World.
What the Channel 4 is involved is to stop the reconciliation,
rehabilitation and development process that has been put in place
after a 30-year long separatist war, that led to the death of several
thousands and destruction. It is a pity that none of those involved in
doctoring the documentary are aware of the basic characteristics of
Sri Lankans. Many, including the so called Journalists for Democracy
in Sri Lanka (JDS), as well as Marion Bentley, Channel 4 publicity
manager, Callum Macrae who directed the extended video clippings,
Saman Zia-Zarifi of Amnesty International who promotes, have failed to
discern the basic characteristic of the Tamil Tiger fighters. Usually,
when a fighting cadre of the Tamil Tiger talks in Tamil, they have an
accent, unlike the normal Tamil speakers. Speaking with an accent was
an adopted trait of the Tigers and it became the proclivity of their
tongue. It was unfortunate that members of the JDS as well as
journalists of Channel 4  the main people involved in preparing the
video documentary, right from the beginning, never had the opportunity
of meeting any single LTTE fighters, in those days when they were
actively engaged in the bloody conflict with the Sri Lankan Government
(Asian
Tribune ; 10 July 2011).

Sustainable peace,
most important - Major Gen. Hathurusinghe
- By Shanika SRIYANANDA in Jaffna - Jaffna, despite a few politically
motivated incidents, is peaceful. People are busy attending to their
day-to-day activities, while Government officials and soldiers are
busy rebuilding Jaffna, which was destroyed by the LTTE. The Army,
which knows the value of peace, after fighting for over 30 years with
the worlds most ruthless terrorists - the LTTE- has now become the
protectors of the Tamils. The Army is now on a mission to maintain
the hard earned peace. The soldiers know the value of peace more than
anyone else. What is important in the post-war scenario is sustainable
peace, Security Forces Commander of Jaffna Maj. Gen. Mahinda
Hathurusinghe said. In an interview with the Sunday Observer, he
explained the need for a new political leadership within the people of
Jaffna and the Armys efforts to restore normality, helping to
rebuild lives and reducing the crime rate. The Army is changing its
image. Earlier, our image was that of a fighting army, but now we are
the protectors, he said, adding that the most important and biggest
challenge for the Army is to change peoples perceptions as the
extremist ideology, though the LTTE was defeated, still prevails in
Jaffna. Maj. Gen. Hathurusinghe flatly denied the Armys involvement
in the alleged attack on a political meeting of the Tamil National
Alliance (TNA) in Jaffna. Following are the excerpts of the interview:
(Sunday Observer : 10 July 2011).

The
Tamils living in Poonaryn division request the Tamil diaspora and
international forum not to disturb the present peaceful atmosphere
prevailing in this country

Games Western
Embassies Play - By Gomin Dayasri - Human
rights, war crimes, accountability, judicial intervention are the
modern mittens in the post war ring after democracy, transparency,
good Governance and Corruption was dumped as discarded gauntlets from
the war phase. Why the change of gloves? An Opposition too feeble and
splintered to pound on a gifted punching bag, left it to the foreign
funded NGO set, reputed for aiming poison darts at spider targets.
They naturally failed to score a bulls eye, being too alienated and
lacking in credibility. The wrong people entrusted with the right
issues, turns it into dust. It was the unkept media that carried the
campaign to a respectable distance, slashing it when short of
sensational news, making the reading public bored by treating it as a
routine diversion. Vibrant issues were made non-issues, by not going
beyond sound and fury. Miscreants, with the Government leading the
dirty rat pack, got away with blue murder! Why have they imported
whipping instruments branded with humanitarian logos to enter the
local market? It has a simple dear Liza answer. Uncle Sam, Union Jack,
Europes Band of Brothers, Scandinavian Scoundrels, with their
satellites and sidekicks shifted the goal-posts to launch a new ball
game. Winning a war that was chartered to lose and dismantling
terrorism destined to be preserved: was not according to a script
texted by the West, meant executors of such disruptive designs have to
be disgraced and displaced (LankaWeb
: 9 July 2011).

How clean are the
hands of USA, UK, and France threatening to take Sri Lanka Armed
Forces before a tribunal for war crimes, for the elimination of
terrorism? - By Charles.S.Perera - UK
Channel 4, with the blessing of the Navi Pillai UNHCHR , Tamil LTTE
diaspora, the Human rights activists, the Anti Sri Lanka Western
Countries, Milliband, Kouchner, Ban Ki Moon and his panel, have
presented to the viewers in UK and sold their infamous doctored
document « Sri Lankas Killing Fields » to naive governments of
the world to convert them to the side of those who claim Sri Lanka
Armed Force has committed war crimes in the elimination of terrorism.
Do they the International Community led by USA, UK and France really
know what it is to, « live with » terrorism ? No they do not . For
them it had not been a case of almost weekly claymore bombs, suicide
bombs in buses and trains, in market places, shooting of personalities
by snipers, or massacring, hacking to death innocent villagers and
busload of monks or shooting point blank surrendered 600 police
officers , and living in fear of terrorists attacks, as it happened in
Sri Lanka, with Sri Lankan terrorists during 30 long years
(Lankaweb : 9 July 2011).

Sri Lanka Killing
Fields - by A. Hettiarchchi, - Dear Sir,
A video showing some men in army uniforms shooting naked persons
looking very much like Europeans is being telecast all over the world
these days. I remember this video came out about six months ago and
they alleged that this was the work of Sri Lankan army. The government
did nothing about it and now the same is coming out with new vigour
with war crime charges. There must be many ways to disprove it. Take
an average cross section of LTTEers in detention and show the world
that our tamil boys are not that well built and very fair. In
the same frame we can see some structures, one looks like a water
tower, at the back ground. Is there such a jungle area in Sri Lanka
with water tower at the back ground similar to the one shown?. Then
our army must be familiar with it. The strange thing is that these
lies told thousand times have now become true and our army spokes
persons cannot adequately defend themselves. I was saddened by the
manner the military officer stumbled when replying the Chennai Indians
on the television show telecast in India today (Lankaweb
: 9 July 2011).

SL police arrests
Briton in connection with Channel 4 video -
Sri Lankan police has arrested a British national for allegedly
providing "false video footage" to a British TV channel to
produce a documentary that accused Lankan troops of war crimes. The
Channel 4 documentary ''Sri Lanka''s Killing Fields'' was slammed by
the government here, which said it was false and doctored. A Colombo
court yesterday allowed the CID to detain and interrogate the Briton
of Sri Lankan-origin named Kandanam Jegadishwaram in connection with
the case, the Daily Mirror reported. The magistrate allowed the
detention of the suspect, accused of providing "false video
footage" to Channel 4, till August 2. The CID had told the court
in an application that the suspect "had caused disrepute to the
country and the army by providing alleged videos to the Channel 4
television", the paper said. The man, who had been living in the
UK for the past 21 years had been visiting Sri Lanka regularly, was
arrested on July 4. The court was told that 71 DVDs were recovered
from his residence in Kandy, and were being probed. The Sri Lankan
military had said recently that it had found the original video that
was ''doctored'' by the British channel. They said the original
footage showed Sri Lankan soldiers being killed by LTTE men, and had a
Tamil soundtrack rather than the Sinhala language heard in the
''doctored'' version. Sri Lankan government has slammed the
documentary as part of a Western nations led campaign against Sri
Lanka (MSN
News : 9 July 2011).

Sri Lanka holds
Briton over video - Sri Lanka has arrested a
Briton for allegedly helping a British TV channel produce a
documentary accusing Sri Lankan troops of war crimes, a media report
says. A Colombo magistrate on Friday agreed to a police request to
detain the suspect, a British citizen of Sri Lankan origin, for a
month and question him, the local Daily Mirror newspaper said. It
quoted court papers which said he was accused of causing
"disrepute to the country and the army by providing alleged
videos to (Britain's) Channel 4 television" for its documentary
Sri Lanka's Killing Fields. The documentary was aired in Australia on
Four Courners on Monday night. The paper said the questioning would be
carried out by Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigations Department. The
British High Commission in Colombo said it had no immediate
information on the case. The Lakbima daily paper said police had
sought the man's detention because he posed a "threat to national
security". Police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody declined to
discuss the case, but confirmed a man was arrested in connection with
"supporting terrorist activities". The arrest came after the
military said on Wednesday it had original footage that exposed the
"malicious intentions" behind the Channel 4 documentary. Sri
Lanka's military said its "unaltered" video suggested that
what the documentary presented as Sri Lankan soldiers executing Tamil
rebel prisoners were actually rebels clad in army fatigues. In the
audio track of the footage in the documentary, aired last month in
Britain and then in Australia, the soldiers spoke in the language of
Sri Lanka's Sinhala majority. The military said the video that the
military had analysed had a Tamil soundtrack, suggesting the killers
were rebels. Sri Lanka has persistently denied that its troops staged
any war crimes while battling the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),
who were crushed in an offensive that ended in May 2009. Colombo has
also accused Channel 4 and Western nations of waging a campaign to
discredit Sri Lanka's human rights record by producing reports of
alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity (BigPond
News ; 9 July 2011).

Lest We Forgot!
- Dr.Chandana Jayalath - Starting from Thimpu discussions far back in
the mid of 1980s, every government that came into power since then
made serious efforts to address whatever issues concerning politics of
the country through a series of comprehensive dialogue. Unfortunately,
the history is full of collapsed talks and the true intention of talks
has always been disputed fundamentally because there was no
participation in good faith by the LTTE. Instead, a ceasefire was
always a gainful period for LTTE to recapture its lost strengths, that
paved a way for the next massacre. We remember even after the signing
of the Ceasefire agreement in 2002, A claymore antipersonnel mine
attack by the LTTE on June 15th, 2006 on a bus carrying 140 civilians
killed 68 people including 15 children, and injured 60 others.
According to Janes Information Group, between 1980 and 2000, LTTE
had carried out a total of 168 suicide attacks on civilians and
military targets
(LankaWeb ; 9 July 2011).

The Tamils living in
Poonaryn division request the Tamil diaspora and international forum
not to disturb the present peaceful atmosphere prevailing in this
country - The Tamils living in Poonaryn
division request the Tamil diaspora and international forum not to
disturb the present peaceful atmosphere prevailing in this country.
The country is liberated from terrorism. Therefore, they stressed that
they do not want to go back to previous era where the terrorism has
destroyed the country during the past three decades. A protest
campaign to show the peoples solidarity and condemnation to the
international conspiracies was held at Jayapuram - Poonaryn junction
this morning. Thousands of peoples have participated in this protest
campaign which was conducted in a peaceful manner. The participants
also stressed that the Tamils in Sri Lanka will not receive any
benefits but will be put into unnecessary inconvenience. The
participants also thanked the President for creating a peaceful
atmosphere at present. They also said the present peaceful atmosphere
has given confidence for them to live with their children in a
peaceful manner. A participant named Selvadurai Shanmuganathan
recalled the past where the small children were forcibly recruited by
LTTE. That situation has been eliminated therefore, he said the Tamil
people in this country can look forward to a better future (SLBC
: 9 July 2011).

Gota lauds Sangakkara
- By Shamindra Ferdinando - Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa
yesterday praised national cricketer Kumar Sangakkara for solidly
backing the countrys successful war effort against the LTTE at a
time a section of the international community is targeting the Sri
Lankan military over accountability issues. Rajapaksa said that the
former national cricket captain had taken advantage of the 2011 Sir
Colin Cowdrey Lecture he delivered at Lords last week to talk about
1983 July riots, the JVP-led insurgency, LTTE terrorism and the heavy
price paid by the military to defeat the LTTE
(Island : 9 July 2011).

Tamils know
reconciliation and redevelopment is real - Ambassador Wickramasuriya
- A lot of Sri Lankans in the US, especially Tamils, have gone back to
Sri Lanka and they know that reconciliation and redevelopment is real.
They are truly astonished and upbeat about what they find, said Sri
Lanka's Ambassador to the United States Jaliya Wickramasuriya during
an interview with the Daily News. "During the conflict, some
Tamils would tell me that they can't be seen talking publicly with me
or at the embassy. That's over. Our discussions are in the open, and
we receive a lot of support from the Tamil community," he said.
Sri Lanka is open for business, it is prosperous, growing and
peaceful, he stressed
(Sri Lanka Defense Ministry : 9 July 2011).

Most missing Tamil
children were recruited by LTTE : UNICEF -
by Shamindra Ferdinando - A study spearheaded by UNICEF in
collaboration with the Northern Provincial Department of Probation and
Child Care and Government Agent of Vavuniya has revealed that the
majority of complaints received from Tamil speaking parents related to
children forcibly recruited by the LTTE. Of 676 complaints regarding
missing children, about 64 per cent related to ex-LTTE child soldiers.
UNICEF has facilitated re-unification of 78 children with their
families. UNICEF says it launched the project in Dec. 2009 in response
to a spate of tracing requests received since the conclusion of the
conflict in May 2009. It believes in spite of difficulties in tracking
down those listed missing, more children could be found and re-united
with their families. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, in an
exclusive interview with The Sunday Island expressed satisfaction that
the UN agency had received the required assistance from the Northern
Provincial administration. Those shedding crocodile tears for their
personal and political gain should throw their weight behind the
UNICEF effort to track down missing children, he said. "We never
interfered with the UNICEF-led Family Tracing and Reunification (FTR)
project," he declared. The following are excerpts of the
interview: (Island
; 9 July 2011).

"Time has come
to overcome the suspicions that remain" - Prof. Wijesinha
- Adviser on Reconciliation to the President of Sri Lanka and MP Prof.
Rajiva Wijesinha has said, "Now that the terror and violence in
Sri Lanka is over, we need also to overcome the suspicions that
remain. It is vital that those abroad, who can remember only the
distant past, will not endeavour to revive tensions, but will rather
visit the country and see what they can do to help, their people of
course, but through that the country as a whole. But I realize that
getting over their suspicions will also be difficult, and we in
Government need to work concertedly to reassure them, to engage with
those willing to move forward." Prof. Wijesinha made these
observations when he addressed a forum held in Brussels at the
European Institute of Asian Studies (EIAS), in collaboration with the
Embassy of Sri Lanka on Thursday, 07 July 2011. Prof. Wijesinha who
deplored the manner in which certain vested interests were seeking to
disrupt Sri Lanka's current development efforts using the Darusman
Report as well as the Channel 4 video, called upon the audience
"not to be misled by this sensational reporting, but to be more
objective in differentiating fact from fiction". Sri Lanka
Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU Ravinatha Aryasinha, who
participated in the discussion said forums of this nature provide an
opportunity to have a more enlightened and respectful discussion on
current developments in Sri Lanka. He also noted that despite having
been invited to participate in the forum, INGOs such as the Brussels
headquartered International Crisis Group, as well as the Human Rights
Watch and Amnesty International had chosen not to participate. He
regretted that these organizations which have much to say about Sri
Lanka from afar, constantly shy away from putting their assertions to
public scrutiny in forums like these where objective discussion takes
place, as they had done when invited to share their views with the
Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commissions (LLRC) hearings in
Colombo last year (Sri
Lanka Defense Ministry : 9 July 2011).

KADIRGAMAR MEMORIAL
LECTURE - Full text of the Speech made by
British Secretary of State for Defence, Dr Liam Fox - It was 16 years
ago that I first met Lakshman Kadirgamar. In 1995 I was the new
Parliamentary Undersecretary of State at the British Foreign Office
and he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, here in Sri Lanka. An
accomplished lawyer, sportsman and politician, there was virtually no
subject on which he did not have an informed opinion or an interesting
anecdote. In the time that we worked together we became close
colleagues as well as good friends. He was a kind, thoughtful and
brave man who enriched public life with principle and integrity. My
involvement in Sri Lanka began during a visit to Vavuniya. I remember
standing outside a refugee camp where a little boy, perhaps three or
four years old and with a very badly damaged left leg, held his hand
out through the gate. I remember the look, to this day, on his
face-innocent, hopeful but sad. I asked the official with me what we
in the UK were doing to help. And the answer was it is not our
sphere of influence. And that is the instant when I decided to try
to help a country which has fascinated and frustrated me ever since,
but where the friendships I made have endured. Since that time
political opportunities have presented themselves and have been missed
when personal or partisan interests have taken precedence over
national interests. Too much time has been wasted, too many chances
missed, too much blood spilled. Lakshman Kadirgamar is remembered for
his ferocious condemnation, globally, of the violence perpetrated by
the LTTE on ordinary Sri Lankans. As a Tamil himself he understood
better than most the complexities of the internal political dynamic.
When asked once by the BBC if he was a traitor to the Tamil people as
Foreign Minister in a largely Sinhalese government he said people
who live in Sri Lanka are first and foremost Sri Lankans, then we have
our own race and religion which is something given to us at birth.
He fully understood the very significant personal risks he was taking
by choosing a life in public service. We often talked about those very
real risks but those of you who knew Lakshman will remember a man who
was not easily diverted from his chosen path. From his involvement in
student politics (where he was President of the Oxford Union) to his
formidable legal career or in his sporting commitment (he was also an
Oxford Blue) he was not a man to be pushed around  as Shane Warne
will testify (Sinhale
Hot News : 9 July 2011).

Arrested Dutch Tamils
directly linked to LTTE - prosecutor - A
Dutch prosecutor has told a court in The Hague that four Tamils
arrested last year in Netherlands have direct links with the Tamil
Tiger terrorists group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The
four Tamils, accused of extorting money from other Dutch Tamils are
currently on trial in the Netherlands, the Radio Netherlands reported.
The four accused are also being charged for organizing illegal
lotteries with all proceeds going to the LTTE and for being members of
a criminal and terrorist organization. The European Union listed LTTE
as a terrorist organization in 2006. According to the prosecutor, the
four Tamils have registered all the Tamil families in the Netherlands
and kept details on who was paying the money to the organization and
who were not. Those who were paying money for the LTTE were coerced to
pay often. The prosecutor has described the LTTE as a "violent
and ruthless "organization that carried out suicide attacks and
recruited child soldiers to deploy for combat. The Dutch authorities
have launched a complex and elaborate investigation called 'Operation
Koninck' to uncover the prominent role Tamil Tiger leaders in the
Netherlands played in financing the civil war in Sri Lanka. The LTTE
waged a war against the Sri Lankan government for over three decades
which killed over 100,000 people on both sides of the ethnic divide.
The government defeated the LTTE in May 2009 eliminating all its
senior leaders in Sri Lanka. However, the Tiger leaders living outside
the country are still actively engaged in reviving the organization. A
lawyer appearing for one of the four suspects has told the Dutch court
that the Sri Lankan army has seriously violated human rights in their
war against the LTTE. He has alleged that many Tamils have been
kidnapped or have disappeared. The case against the four Tamil
suspects is expected to take many more months as Dutch police are
still investigating many of the charges against them. A Dutch team was
in Sri Lanka recently as a part of their investigation to interrogate
the former senior LTTE leader and the group's international arms
procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan and other former LTTE leaders who are
detained by the Sri Lankan government. The team was in Sri Lanka to
investigate funding activities and weapons procurement by Tamil
leaders based in the Netherlands during the conflict. According to a
report in Daily Mirror, the Dutch detectives have interviewed 13
former LTTE cadres before leaving the country last week (Colombo
page ; 9 July 2011).

The Cage - a book of
VICE proving WEISS is far from WISE - Gordon Weiss, an ex-UN worker is
in a futile attempt to be an expert on Sri Lankan history,
anthropology and politics after his short term in Sri Lanka and
liaisons with the separatist Tamils. The Cage is teeming with
distortions of facts and entire fabrications heavily used by the
separatist Tamil Tiger (LTTE) lobby for over three decades to
indoctrinate young Tamils to boost conscription of child soldiers in
Sri Lanka and unsuspecting Westerners to muster financial/political
support for their separatist movement. Weiss portraits times of
gaining independence as golden period of Sri Lanka boasting democracy
which was later destroyed by fundamentalist violent Sinhalese
Buddhists. He claims post-independence pro-Sinhala (anglicised
Sinhalese) and pro-Buddhist reforms as the cause of Tamil separatist
terrorism - nothing could be further from the truth. Defying all
eminent historians who studied Sri Lankan history over the last three
centuries, Weiss gives credit to distorted historical accounts of
ancient Sri Lanka that the separatists concocted only in the last
three decades to legitimise Tamil terrorism, in the absence of a bona
fide historic claim to the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri
Lanka. We, the Australian of Sri Lankan origin, humbly urge the
readers to consider some FACTS presented below that have been
effectively displaced by false propaganda of the Tamil separatists
utilising gullible Western agents like Weiss (Full
article in Sri Lanka News Online ; 9 July 2011).

Dutch detectives
complete probe in Lanka - The evidence
collected during the interviews with former LTTE chief arms procurer
Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP and other former LTTE cadres who are in
government custody will be produced in the relevant Dutch Courts in
September, an embassy official said yesterday. The Netherlands Embassy
First Secretary Jaco Beerends said 13 former LTTE cadres were
interviewed and the Dutch detectives had left the country last week.
He said the evidence would be used in the ongoing case in Oslo where
LTTE leader Perinbanayagam Sivaparan alias Nediyavan is accused of
involvement in LTTE activities. Mr. Sivaparan was arrested by the
Norwegian police and later released on conditional bail after
recording a statement on LTTE activities including fund raising in
Netherlands. He was interviewed for two days by Dutch investigators
comprising a judge and five lawyers in May later released on
conditional bail pending further investigations. The investigations
codenamed Operation Koninck, which pursued the LTTE money trail
finally led to Norway. It was revealed that the funds collected from
LTTE sympathisers in Netherlands was sent to Mr. Sivaparan in Norway.
The interviews in Sri Lanka were carried out with the cooperation of
the Sri Lankan government subsequent to a request by the Netherlands
Justice Ministry which was granted permission to interview former LTTE
cadres who volunteered to be questioned. Radio Netherlands had
revealed that LTTE leaders in the Netherlands had played a prominent
role in financing the war in Sri Lanka and that extortion had
continued even after the end of war in May 2009. This came to light
through digital information obtained from a Dutch Tamil in
Netherlands, S. Ramachandran who was arrested in April last year. He
was reported to have organised the money flow and had plans for
financial activities in his possession. Mr. Ramachandrans
involvement with the LTTE had also been proved with certain documents
seized by the Sri Lankan Army in areas which had been under LTTE
control. Among those documents was a form filled out by Ramachandran
in 2003, saying he was responsible for LTTE activities in the
Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. He wrote on the form that he had
been active in the organisation since 1989, and that he had also
worked in other countries. The documents had been prepared at a
meeting with LTTE representatives from abroad (Daily
Mirror ; 9 July 2011).

Acting envoy writes
to Four Corner's programme producer: 'Stop Channel 4 video telecast'
- by Ravi LADDUWAHETTY - Sri Lanka's acting High Commissioner to
Australia Sashikala Premwardhana has sent a letter of protest to Four
Corner's Programme executive producer Sue Spencer, on behalf of the
Sri Lankan government, calling on her to stop the telecast of the
Channel Four Video, which was to be telecast under the theme;
"Killing Fields of Sri Lanka." The acting High
Commissioner's response has been following a request from the
television station for the proposed telecast of the video last
Saturday. The Executive Summary and the key elements of the acting
High Commissioner's response to the television station have been
(Daily News ; 9 July 2011).

Dutch Tamils
'directly linked' with LTTE - The Dutch
Public Prosecutor says four Dutch Tamils who were arrested last year,
have direct links with the Tamil Tigers separatists army, the LTTE.
The rebel group has been listed as a terrorist organisation by the
European Union since 2006. The Tamils who are currently on trial in
the Netherlands, are accused of extorting money from other Dutch
Tamils. In court in the Hague, the Public Prosecutor said the four men
were also charged with organising illegal lotteries (with all proceeds
going to the LTTE) and for being members of a criminal and terrorist
organisation (Radio
Netherlands ; 8 July 2011).

Don Randall speaks
once again on behalf of Sri Lanka - Speech
made at the Australian House of Representatives by Don Randall,
Liberal Party MP for Canning (WA) on 6th July. I am compelled to
respond and make some observations in relating to the Channel 4 video
which was shown on Four Corners last Monday night in relation to the
final days and hours of the Sri Lankan civil war. I do so because in
my role as the Deputy Chair of the Sri Lankan Group and my general
interest in Sri Lanka there are some issues that need to be put on the
record (Read
details : Sinhale Hot News: 8 July 2011).

Reconciliation in the
Context of Channel 4 allegation - Text of a presentation by Prof.
Rajiva Wijesinha, MP - The last few
months have seen an astonishing spate of attacks on the Sri Lankan
government. These began with the publication of the Darusman report,
by three individuals who were tasked to appoint the Un Secretary
General on accountability issues but instead sat in judgment on the
Sri Lankan state and its armed forces. Immediately those who had in
any case been attacking the government previously now used this as a
tool. That episode was followed by a book by a man called Gordon
Weiss, and then a film aired on Channel 4. All this added to the
impression that there was a mass of evidence against the Sri Lankan
government. However the exercise was similar to that of Wittgensteins
gentleman who bought a second copy of the morning paper to establish
that what the first said was true. I noticed for instance that many
elements in the Report were repeated in Gordon Weisss book, and the
only detailed allegations in the Report were based on the pictures
shown on Channel 4
(LankaWeb : 8 July 2011).

UN Chief still
considering - UN - The United Nations
yesterday said that UN Chief Ban Ki-moon is considering what the next
steps that he would take with regard to the report of expert panel
appointed by him. When asked when will the Secretary-General send a UN
panel report on Sri Lanka officially to the Human Rights Council?
acting Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq had
told media in New York that Weve already, as you know, made the
report public. Regarding any onward transmission to other bodies, the
Secretary-General is considering next steps, and if and when we have
further course of action to announce, we will announce it at that
point. (Daily
Mirror ; 8 July 2011).

Fellow Tamils! Open
your eyes (and mind) and see for yourselves!!
- by Ganapathy Moorthy - I am a SriLankan Tamil, have visited many
places in the North of Sri Lanka and spoke to people who had been
trapped and used as human shield by the LTTE with the dual purpose of
saving their (LTTE) existence and to engage in a propaganda using the
deaths of innocent people caught in the cross-fire, and shelling in
the last stages of war. At least seven families of my close
relatives who also had lost children by being caught in the fights
testified themselves and all of them put the blame for their misery on
the LTTE, and not the Government forces, despite the loss of their
children. In fact, my sister, who lost one of her sons, and a
brother who lost his only child cursed the LTTE and called the Sri
Lankan army as their saviors. My sisters actual word are:  ..
I have witnessed the LTTE, who claimed to be the saviors of the
Tamils, killing some of the innocent Tamils who tried to escape from
the fighting, I hate them with all my heart, . Whenever I see the SL
army, I happen to think , if it were not for them, we also would have
been killed and they now look like angels for saving us from the cruel
clutch (word used in Tamil kodukkup pidi) of the nassamai
ponavangal (let them go to hell), meaning the LTTE. ( I have not
modified or changed any word said by my sister). My brother said when
his daughter, a six year old only child was injured due to shelling,
he took her to the hospital, where one of the five doctors later
surrendered to the Government forces was working.( I do not want to
mention the doctors name, as I knew very well that he would not
have any other choice other than obey the orders of the LTTE while he
was in Wanni, even though I do not agree with his actions at all!) (LankaWeb
: 8 July 2011).

Sri Lanka Police
discover LTTE boat manufacturing center -
Sri Lanka Police Special Task Force has discovered a boat
manufacturing center from the Kilinochchi area in the Northern
Province of Sri Lanka. Police suspect the boat manufacturing center
was operated by the Tamil Tiger terrorist group Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Police recovered several boats and molds used in
manufacturing boats from the abandoned factory. LTTE held the area for
many years before the end of their defeat in 2009 and had an ad hoc
administration set up there including service hubs for the rebel war
machine. However, the police disecovered the place recently since it
had been abandoned for some time, police sources said (Colombo
page : 8 July 2011).

Govt focused on legal
action against Channel 4 - by Nadira
GUNATILLEKE - The government arrested 7,000 hardcore LTTE cadres
who were well armed and killed people. The government has already
rehabilitated a section of them, provided them vocational training
with some sort of income generating avenues and integrated them into
society, Cabinet spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella
said. Therefore why did the government want to kill only six or
seven of them at that time? The government had the chance of killing
all 7,000, he said. Minister Rambukwella said that these days the
government is focusing on possible legal action against the Channel 4
fabricated video. Many foreign countries proposed Sri Lanka to take
legal action against the video and demand compensation. The relevant
British state authority has already received many complaints against
Channel 4 video and now ready to commence investigations. The
Australian Labour Party leaders clearly stated that they know about
LTTEs child soldiers recruitments and other crimes executed by the
LTTE. They spoke about the issue in their Parliament (Daily
News ; 8 July 2011).

Minister Professor
G.L. Peiris says that the Indian government has not made any impact on
Sri Lanka - Minister of Foreign Affairs
Professor G.L. Peiris says that the Indian government has not made any
impact on the Sri Lankan government. India has not entered into any
agreement with the Sri Lankan government. The Minister points out that
the reports published in media are mere statements. He further states
that the government is not bound by any means with any party in this
regard. The Minister replying to a motion presented by member Vijitha
Herath at the adjournment session in parliament today also said that
the mere showing of the channel four tape in the United Nations does
not amount to the recognition of the facts contained in the tape.
International experts are conducting investigations on the tape.
Minister Professor Peiris further said that there is a disparity
between the visual and the audio components of the tape. The LTTE
remains active on the international level. They are trying to build a
strong media network through their financial strength. The foreign
minister further said that the aim of the government is to provide a
solution to acceptable to all. The cooperation of all communities is
important in this regard. He added there is no need for bidding for
time through the appointment of a select committee (SLBC
: 8 July 2011).

Reconciliation in the
Context of Channel 4 allegation - By: Prof.
Rajiva Wijesinha - The Darusman Report, as well as the selective
coverage by Channel 4 of what they had termed 'Sri Lanka's Killing
Fields' had contributed to polarization amongst Sri Lankans which
inhibited efforts at reconciliation. Such forces, which often worked
in tandem, presenting the same biased and often doctored material in
different guises, were then used by separatist forces operating
outside the country, stated Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha at the Sri Lankan
High Commission in London on July 5th, addressing a cross section of
academics, journalists, opinion makers and members of the Sri Lankan
Diaspora in the UK. Prof. Wijesinha's presentation entitled
'Reconciliation in the Context of Channel 4 Allegations" also
included a comprehensive briefing on post-conflict re-building
endeavours. Elaborating on the progress made in many areas of concern
within a relatively short period of time against numerous constraints,
Prof. Wijesinha said that it is time that the international community
acknowledges this aspect. Though fears had been expressed in 2009
about Resettlement and Reconstruction, none of the progress in these
areas were acknowledged. What seemed a general attitude of "See
no Good, Hear No Good, Speak No Good", ignoring the positive
reactions of international agencies on the ground in Sri Lanka, would
not help move the people of the country together towards prosperity
(Sri Lanka Defense Ministry : 8 July 2011).

Australian Govt. to
support an international call for an independent investigation into
war crimes committed by both the GoSL & the LTTE.
An open letter to Senator Mr,Bob Brown,Federal Senate of the
Parliament of Australia,Canberra - by Vajiragnana
Warnakulasuriya, Melbourne - In response to your speech on 5/07/11 at
the Senate sitting, I submit my defence for Sri Lanka. Referring to
your speech to the senate on the 5/07/11, I wish to present before you
a different perspective than what you were made to believe. At the
outset let me comment on your quote, investigation into war crimes
committed by both the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam unquote. LTTE has been eradicated from Sri
Lanka, their rump is living comfortably in the Western soil with the
help from the nonchalant gullible, so the Hobsons choice for anyone
is the victor Sri Lanka, the quote becomes meaningless, and its not
a fair request! The visuals of the video on Sri Lanka Killing
Fields are indeed horrific and emotively shocking. When a Westerner
not knowing how the executioners communicate whilst executing the
victims, the non Sri Lankan audience, using their preconceived verdict
guilty, guilty, guilty is parroted by almost all including all media.
If anyone who cared to see the original its poles apart from what
was shown on the 4th July on Four Corners. The difference being the
doctored visuals and the spoken language. These changes are
chalk & cheese, but to the non Sri Lankans it doesnt look any
different. The LTTE rump cunningly deceived CH4 and the Western
populous capitalizing their ignorance of not knowing difference in the
language (Sinhale
Hot News ; 8 July 2011).

Govt. rules out
federal solution; Nimal tells Kirielle in parliament
- by Saman Indrajith - Leader of the House Irrigation Minister Nimal
Siripal de Silva told Parliament yesterday that the government would
never consider federalism a solution to what he described as the
national problem. Responding to an observation by UNP Kandy District
MP Lakshman Kiriella that the government should consider a federal
solution to the national problem, the minister said that MP Kiriellas
statement indicated the UNPs standpoint. "If that is the UNPs
solution then we say clearly that our government is not ready to bring
about a federal solution. We will never consider such a
solution," he said. The government would bring a solution
acceptable to all communities in the country without causing any
disharmony, the minister said. "We are a responsible government.
We are not ready to find solutions in a hurry (Island
; 7 July 2011).

Channel
4 video on Sri Lanka - by Asoka
Weerasinghe, Canada - Rathika Sitsabaiesan, NDP MP for
Scarborough-Rouge River, Ontario House of Commons, Ottawa; Dear
Rathika: I wrote you on June 24 referencing to your comments on the
Channel 4 video Sri Lankas Killing Fields which was in the
NDP Press Release of June 14, 2011 in which you were quoted as saying,
Weve heard allegations of war crimes before, now weve seeing
the horrible visual evidence of it, said Sitsabaiesan. Sustainable
peace can only be achieved if these allegations are investigated and
perpetrators are brought to justice. I continued my letter with the
following comment: There is little to say that you three musketeers
(Jack Layton, Paul Dewar and Rathika Sitsabaiesan) have not eased on
chomping at Sri Lanka with your anti-Sri Lankan attitudes and ever
ready with nails and hammers in your hands to nail Sri Lanka to the
wall in support of the call by your Tamil separatist constituents who
have bartered their votes to destroy the ongoing reconciliation
process among the aggrieved communities in Sri Lanka. Remember?
But, you seem to be in denial to accept that the real perpetrators
were the Tamil Tigers, almost all who died in battle by 19 May 2009,
other than those who managed to sneak into Canada lying their way
claiming refugee status saying that they are running away from
persecution. It is their red Tiger flag that you had quite proudly
exhibited on your Face book web pages after your election win (LankaWeb
: 7 July 2011).

CHANNEL 4 VEDEO
TITLED KILLING FIELDS OF SRI LANKA- by
JANAKI CHANDRARATNA PERTH, AUSTRALIA I watched with great frustration
and disappointment the manner in which the Channel 4 video titled Killing
Fields of Sri Lanka, relayed in the ABC Four Corners Program on
4 July 2011. My deep concern was that a veteran journalist like Kerry
OBrien chose to relay the program knowing very well that the video
was controversial, biased, unauthenticated and its credibility is
under investigation by the British Media Regulatory Authority. Also,
several Sri Lankans including the High Commissioner had presented
reasons as to why the video should not be relayed. Not only did the
video was broadcast, the presenter very authoritatively gave his
conclusion that that the video content has enough evidence for an
international investigation. One wonders how a professional journalist
can arrive at such a conclusion, leave alone broadcast it, without the
validation of the facts presented. This indeed is a breach of the most
revered principle of factual accuracy in journalism. As you know there
is a background and two sides to every story. Quite sadly, the
presenter chose to ignore the background completely and with regard to
the Government side, only a pointer was given to a website. The
presenter also privileged the LTTE terrorists as freedom fighters.
There was no freedom that was taken away from the Tamils for the
terrorists to be freedom fighters. They engaged in terrorism to carve
out a separate state in two thirds of the country, with a less than
10% of the population, because Sri Lanka was a weaker target when
compared to India. They should have tried their claims for a separate
state in India as Tamilnadu is their homeland. The LTTE organised
genocide of all other ethnic communities living in the North whilst
Tamils continued to live freely everywhere else in the island. In fact
currently, the majority of the population in the Colombo precinct is
Tamil. In such a background how can the LTTE be called freedom
fighters? The presenter should have got his facts right before making
spurious assertions (Lankaweb
: 7 July 2011).

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE
TO THE AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC-ABC TVS FOUR CORNERS PROGRAM  AT LEAST,
58 DECEPTIONS (SEE BELOW) - CHANNEL 4/ABC
TV MUST STOP THE TELECASAT IMMIDIATELY UNTIL AN IMPARTIAL
INVESTIGATION IS HELD TO DETERMINE THE FILMS AUTHENTICITY -MEDIA
RELEASE SRI LANKA SUPPORT GROUP, CANBERRA With this film, the Tamil
Diaspora (LTTE affiliated) has again misled the world including the
Australian public. After the ABC Four Corners, even the Sinhalese
people living in Australia have murmured to the other why did our
Army commit such atrocities. This shows the success of the Channel
4s deception. We say that some scenes of the film had been shot
with actors (and they are fine actors indeed). Most likely, some of
the scenes have been shot outside of Sri Lanka. Since there have been
write ups about this, we please ask those who have such evidence to
provide them to us. We say that most scenes in the film have been
stage managed, people were crying and wailing for the camera. They
were not giving eye contact to the camera, because they cannot, as
they were actors. It is being stated that some of the blood that was
shown on the film was not blood but dye and/or paint. The main message
of the film was that they targeted the hospitals , they raped
Tamil women and they killed thousands of Tamil civilians; the
Channel 4/ABC TV achieved this objective so well. Many people have
been parroted to say the same thing the Army targeted the hospital,
raped women, killed children and civilians. This itself shows that
the whole film is a farce. The film was successful in convincing the
average Australian and the world that the Sri Lankan soldiers went to
the North and committed most gruesome atrocities (war crimes) that no
other recent Army had ever committed. Channel 4/ABC TV had a duty to
disclose the true facts, but they did not. This gives us the right to
file legal action against them, and those who corroborated in
producing such untruth. Currently we are seriously investigating this
possibility (legal action) (LankaWeb
: 7 July 2011).

Dr. Palitha Kohana
says it is necessary to reveal the supporters of pro-LTTE elements to
the international community - Permanent
Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN Dr. Palitha Kohona says the
resettlement process has been completed in a systematic manner after
the humanitarian operation in the North. The rehabilitation activities
of LTTE members have also been completed successfully. The government
has taken measures to socialise such members. Participating in the
Subarathi Programme of the SLBC this morning Dr. Kohana appreciated
the utmost contributions of the security forces to remove landmines in
the north. He also pointed out the need to continue the assistance
provided by the armed forces, police, media, and the general public in
the similar manner extended during the humanitarian operation in order
to face present challenges. In the cold war, it is more appropriate to
strengthen the response to the foreign forces which present false
conceptions against the country. He further stated that the groups
which support the pro-LTTE activities against the country should also
be revealed to the international community (SLBC
: 7 July 2011).

Action against
Lanka taken according to a well-written script
- by Nadira GUNATILLEKE - Elements in the international community want
to create an opinion in the world against Sri Lanka stating that war
crimes took place here. A parade of actions is being staged in this
regard according to a well-written script, said Construction,
Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities Minister Wimal
Weerawansa during an interview with the Daily News. Following are the
extracts of the interview
(Daily News ; 7 July 2011).

An important message
to the Australian Public-ABC TVS FOUR CORNERS PROGRAM  AT LEAST,
38 DECEPTIONS (SEE BELOW) - MEDIA RELEASE
SRI LANKA SUPPORT GROUP, CANBERRA With this film, the Tamil Diaspora (LTTE
affiliated) has again misled the world including the Australian
public. After the ABC Four Corners, even the Sinhalese people living
in Australia have murmured to the other why did our Army commit
such atrocities. This shows the success of the Channel 4s
deception. We say that some scenes of the film had been shot with
actors (and they are fine actors indeed). Most likely, some of the
scenes have been shot outside of Sri Lanka. Since there have been
write ups about this, we please ask those who have such evidence to
provide them to us. We say that most scenes in the film have been
stage managed, people were crying and wailing for the camera. They
were not giving eye contact to the camera, because they cannot, as
they were actors. It is being stated that some of the blood that was
shown on the film was not blood but dye and/or paint. The main message
of the film was that they targeted the hospitals , they raped
Tamil women and they killed thousands of Tamil civilians; the
Channel 4 achieved this objective so well. Many people have been
parroted to say the same thing the Army targeted the hospital,
raped women, killed children and civilians. This itself shows that
the whole film is a farce and a fabrication (LankaWeb
; 6 July 2011).

Channel 4
controversy: Govt intelligence uncovers several cropped video clips -
Minister Keheliya - by Chamikara
WEERASINGHE - Media and Mass Communication Minister and Defence
spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella yesterday said the governments
intelligence network has found several cropped video clips and
multimedia files from sources that enabled the making of controversial
Channel 4 video footage. We are investigating these clips to
understand the outsourcing of the jigsaw puzzle and show how these
bits and pieces were doctored and remastered into a single slide show
to be telecast all over Europe, while a UN human rights meeting was
held in Geneva, he said. According to intelligence reports, the
controversial Channel 4 footage is an improved version of similar
footage they have telecast two years ago accusing the government of
war crimes and human rights violations. The video is clearly
doctored and designed to discredit the Sri Lankan Security Forces
right from the start to the end. There are no doubts about it,
Rambukwella said. The sequence of events, the background commentary
and the timing of its telecast in the background of the unrest,
release the controversial Darusman Report, stands to prove that it was
an organized attempt to discredit the Sri Lankan government, he
explained. Much of the damage has been done by the commentary, he
said. Asked if the video material under investigation were real and
whether their authenticity has been established to be good enough for
investigations, Rambukwella said, we are talking about half a
million persons and a legitimate Army whose valiant efforts, bravery
and sacrifices have freed the country (LankaWeb
; 6 June 2011).

ABC and C-4 video
- by Malin Abeyatunga - Amidst hundreds of oral and written protests
by the Sri Lankan community in Australia, Its appalling that the
ABC telecasted the fiction film clip titled "Sri Lankas
killing fields" borrowed from an unethical broadcaster from UK-
Channel 4. Even though the Channel 4 is a public TV funded by the Tax
payers, Channel 4 is alleged to be on the edge of bankruptcy and
telecasting this clip would have bought them out of the RED presumably
by LTTE funding. The clip which was broadcast by the ABC is
controversial and contentious for the following reasons: * This is not
a documentary but compilation of images, clips borrowed from LTTE
propaganda machine Tamil net and many other Tamil websites and the AI
who coughs for LTTE dollars; * Many of the images and footage shown
are fake and unsubstantiated and manufactured to suit the financiers,
producers and the Directors and the telecasters; 1. The Main witness
Vani Kumar appears to be very innocent but was a militant operating
from UK under LTTE front" Tamil Youth Organization (TYO) and
having links with the LTTE. She arrived in Sri Lanka in 2008 at the
request of Castro (former head of the LTTE Foreign Division) and has
undergone military training. Hence her depiction of events cannot be
treated as impartial (Island
; 5 July 2011).

ABC-4
CORNERS telecasts unethical Channel 4-UK an unauthenticated
manufactured fiction clip titled Sri Lankas Killing Fields
- by Malin Abeyatunge, Melbourne, Australia - Amidst hundreds of
oral and written protests by the Sri Lankan community in Australia, Its
appalling that the ABC telecasted the fiction film clip titled Sri
Lankas killing fields borrowed from an unethical broadcaster
from UK- Channel 4. Even though the Channel 4 is a public TV funded by
the Tax payers, Channel 4 is alleged to be in the edge of
bankruptcy and telecasting this clip would have bought them out of the
RED presumably by LTTE funding. The clip which was broadcasted by the
ABC is controversial and contentious for the following reasons: (Sri
Lanka News Online ; 5 July 20110.

Sri
Lanka Permanent Representative to the UN points out the need of
building a global alliance to defeat the false conception of the pro-LTTE
against Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka Permanent
Representative to the UN Dr. Palitha Kohona points out the need of
building a global alliance to defeat the false conception of the pro-LTTE
against Sri Lanka. He said there should be a system to interact
properly with other countries not only on the diplomatic level but
also with media and NGOs. The Pro LTTE is trying to realise their
goals using political leaders, media and NGOs of various countries.
All citizens should be vigilant about their activities. Dr. Kohana
reiterated that relationship between the other countries should be
strengthened to defeat such elements. He further stated that Sri
Lankans in overseas have a greater responsibilities to enlighten the
international community about the true situation of the country (SLBC
: 5 July 2011).

You
have the right to register
your protest

Register your
protest on the proposed screening of the Channel 4 programme "Sri
Lanka's Killing Fields" on ABC's Four Comers Programme (in
Australia) on Monday, 04 July 2011. We urge ABC not to telecast this programme and
give coverage to content which is unsubstantiated and without any
guarantee of authenticity.

Media
Release by SPUR (New Zealand) - "Sri Lanka's Killing
Fields" , the documentary to be screened on 04 July 2011 in
Four Corners on ABC (SPUR - New Zealand)

Channel 4 video,
Darusman Report and the world opinion -
by L.I. Keerthisinghe Attorney-at-Law - The West won the world not
by superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its
superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget
this fact, non Westerners never do. Samuel. P. Huntington as quoted
by J.B. Miller in his dissertation The Good Old Days. J.B.
Miller in the above dissertation refers to the General Order issued in
1818 during the British Colonial Rule in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) to
put down the rebellion in Uva-Vellassa as follows: Kill every man,
woman and child including the babes suckling at their mothers
breast. Destrory all dwelling houses. Burn all crops. Cut down all
fruit trees. Slaughter all cattle; take whatever meat is necessary to
feed the troops and burn the rest. Destroy all reservoirs, canals and
channels. Poison the wells. Lay waste utterly the countryside denying
any relief whatsoever to the rebels. Miller further states: This
order was carried out, laying waste Uva and Vellassa, a destruction
from which it is yet to fully recover. (Daily
News ; 5 July 2011).

A note on smart-ass
devolutionists - by Malinda Seneviratne -
When they called it separatism is sounded like a cuss-word.
Separatists took time to get smart. Perhaps it would be more correct
to say it took them a long time to recover smartness. S.J.V.
Chelvanayakam hit the correct idea when he said it was possible to
extract anything from the Sinhalese as long as it is done slowly, an
idea he captured in the pithy A little now, more later. Leaving
aside the notion that whoever did the taking would be taking
from all Sri Lankans and not just the Sinhalese, the slogan only
pushed separatism to embrace terrorism while it rubbed the Sinhalese
majority quite the wrong way. Had Chelva thought but not said,
separatism may have benefited, but chauvinists and land-thieves often
trip over themselves. G.G. Ponnambalams Fifty-fifty for a
little lover 10 percent of the population may have been the product of
greed gone crazy but it also framed the dimensions of aspirations for
more than half a century. By 1976, Chelva himself lost his way, the
Vadukoddai Resolution being nothing less than a go-for-broke adventure
that wanted it all; not power-sharing but land and coast grabbing.
Blood-letting was the unscripted inevitable. Close to a hundred
thousand lives were lost. When the LTTE was in fully cry Tamil
moderates (so-called) either out of fear or awe or outright salutation
went gear-down on devolution. The statements of the moderates,
both individuals and parties (in coalition and isolation) make for a
symptomatic reading on this aspect. The TNAs election manifestoes
of 2001, 2004 and 2010 would do in fact. Post-LTTE, devolution has
been resurrected out of consolation-need more than anything else, one
might argue, if not for Chelvas Action Plan of incremental
construction of Eelam. The 13th Amendments most important
contribution to the Eelam cause has been its utility as reference
point. India fostered terrorism in Sri Lanka. India gave refuge,
armed, trained and funded terrorism. India took some sparks poured
gallons and gallons of fuel, whipped up a roaring fire and then
brought fire-size down (for a while) and now insists that where the
fire is now is foundation-point for resolution. No mention now of what
it is that is sought to be resolved. No talk either of the fact that
foundation-point is still a fire that anyone including India, Tamil
Nadu, Tamil and Sinhala chauvinism included can add fuel to (Daily
Mirror ; 5 July 2011).

Shoddy and suspicious
details in UN Panel Report - Prof Rajiva WIJESINHA, MP -
I have not yet seen the full report issued by the panel appointed by
Ban ki Moon, but the Sunday Island of the 17th carries a fascinating
extract - In the early morning hours of January 24, hundreds of
shells rained down on the NFZ. Those with access to the United Nations
bunker dove into it for protection. But most IDPs did not have bunkers
and nowhere to take cover. People were screaming and crying out for
help. The United Nations security officer, a highly experienced
military officer and others present discerned that the shelling was
coming from the South from SLA positions Heavy shelling continued
overnight and shells continued to hit the United Nations hub and the
distribution centre killing numerous civilians When United Nations
staff, emerged from the bunker at first morning light at the first
opportunity, mangled bodies and body parts were strewn all around
them, including those of many women and children. Remains of babies
had been blasted upwards into the trees. Among the dead were people
who had helped dig the bunker the previous day  (Lankaweb
; 5 July 2011).

Statements on Sri
Lanka Urging International Investigations
- by Ira de Silva London, Canada - Ms. Navanetham Pillay United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Geneva, Switzerland; CC:
Hon Ban ki Moon, Secretary General, Dear Madam, I read a news report
on your latest statement on Sri Lanka dated June 30,2010 which
reflects your continued aggressive, biased, vindictive attitude
towards Sri Lanka. At the sessions in Geneve in June this year,
commenting on Sri Lanka you made a statement that the war was fought
under the guise of terrorism. The implication is that a) you
have minimal knowledge of what had taken place in Sri Lanka and of
LTTE (Tamil) terrorism over a period of 25 years, b) if you did have
knowledge of terrorism in Sri Lanka, it was a blatant attempt to deny
what the rest of the world had heard of and seen on news broadcasts
all over the world, c) you were making a deliberate attempt to turn a
blind eye to the terrorism of the LTTE and the havoc and destruction
of life and property. I would like to point out to you that while you
are entitled to your personal beliefs about LTTE (Tamil) terrorists,
all of these ideas/beliefs/attitude reflected in your statements are
not in keeping with the policies of the U.N. and the office you hold
at the U.N. which requires impartiality (Lankaweb
: 5 July 2011).

MoD lifts foreigners
pre-travel approval to North - The
Ministry of Defence (MoD) lifted the imposed pre-travel approval to
the North, exclusively for foreign passport holders with effect from
yesterday. According to military liaison officials, foreign passport
holders are no longer required to produce a MoD travel approval
document at Omanthai entry/exist point- the main travel checking point
located in Vavuniya. As normalcy is flourishing in the country we
see that travel restrictions to foreign passport holders as no longer
required, the official stated commenting on the latest move. This
is a definite sign that the country is heading in the right direction
with the rapid reconciliation and development taking place in Wanni
and North, he further said (Daily
News ; 5 July 2011).

Prof. Peiris tells
Killinochchi gathering: Make use of unique dev. opportunity
- External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, addressing the
gathering soon after the opening of the SLFP office in Killinochchi by
Member of Parliament for the Hambantota District Namal Rajapaksa, said
that the people of Killinochchi should make use of the unique
opportunity which has become available after many decades, to take the
economic and social development of the area forward rapidly. He
described the major infrastructure projects including roads, water and
the railway network which had been undertaken by the government for
the benefit of the people of the area after the eradication of
terrorism. Minister Peiris referred to the initiatives of the
government with regard to skills development and job creation, and
mentioned particularly the government's success in prevailing on the
private sector, in partnership with government enterprises, to
commence commercial activity in the area. Prof. Peiris underlined the
government's firm resolve that the country, as a whole, and all
communities should derive the fullest benefit from the rapid
development of the economy. He called on the people to elect
Pradeshiya Sabhas that would work closely with the government to
ensure that the maximum advantages accrue to the people. Minister of
Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage and SLFP Organizer of the Kilinochchi
district Geethanjalie Naguleshwaran were also present (Daily
News ; 5 July 2011).

552 rehabilitated
LTTE cadres rejoin relatives - A group of
552 LTTE cadres including eight women who were rehabilitated for two
years re-joined their relatives yesterday at the Vavuniya Cultural
Centre. Rehabilitation Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera was the chief
guest at the ceremony held. Addressing the gathering Minister
Gajadeera said a large number of LTTE cadres had been rehabilitated
and released and others would also be handed over to their relatives
soon. The Commissioner of Rehabilitation and Prisons, Major General
Sudantha Ranasinghe said the number of rehabilitation camps had been
reduced from 24 to 8. He said 7,968 LTTE cadres had been released
after rehabilitation and steps were being taken to release the other
2,956 soon. Secretary to the Ministry of Rehabilitation, A.
Dissanayake and Vavuniya Govt. Agent Mrs. P.S.W. Charles were present
at the occasion
(Daily Mirror ; 5 July 2011).

A reply to Suresh
Premachandran of the TNA - By
Charles.S.Perera - The TNA Mps were hatched from the eggs laid by
terrorist suprimo Prabhakaran. They cackled for the terrorists from
the beginning being the spokesmen of the terrorists. They represented
the terrorists and not the ordinary Tamils. It was through that fear
of the terrorists that the Tamil people in the North may have voted
for the TNA. Though they keep strutting about cooing to all and
mighty anti Sri Lankans and terrorist diaspora, they cannot give
lessons to the government of Sri Lanka as they are still not the
popularly acclaimed representatives of the Tamil people. What
can we expect from Suresh Premachandran and the rest of the TNA
cacklers who had even gone to demand Russia and China not to help Sri
Lanka ? Do the Tamil people see in them patriots of Sri Lanka or just
divisive elements still speaking with the voice of Prabhakaran to set
up Prabhakarans Eelam State. It is the Tamils like Suresh
Premachandrans that the Sri Lankans detest, because they are not a
unitary forces, but divisive elements. They are and will never be true
patriots of Sri Lanka therefore the ordinary Tamil people must beware
of them. A Tamil friend of mine said that all Tamils have in them this
feeling of intense Tamilness, and that it is this feeling that make
them keep themselves apart from the other communities. Therefore they
would like to have their own Eelam State. It is this inner sentiment
of the ordinary Tamil people the Suresh Premachandran and his TNA
clique are trying to exploit (LankaWeb
: 4 July 2011).

Jaffna Fort will
become a tourist center - Economic
Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa while on an inspection tour
yesterday to the renovation site of Jaffna Fort instructed the
officials to complete the work at the earliest as the government
intends to convert it into a location of tourist atraction while
preserving its archeological values.The Phase one of the ongoing
renovation project costing Rs.104 million is expected to be completed
shortly. Jaffna Fort was built as a small garrison by the
Portuguese in 1618 when the Portuguese invaded Jaffna. Later, in 1658
the Dutch captured it from the Portuguese and expanded its location
further. It was taken over by the British in 1795. This Dutch Fort was
completely destroyed during the time of eelam war as the LTTE had
maintained its garrison within the Fort premises. Jaffna, the Capital
city of Sri Lanka's Northern province has been a tourist destination
with the visit of large number of locals as well as foreigners daily,
since the end of war. Therefore the Minister Rajapaksa said that
government will make the Jaffna Fort a tourist center with enhanced
facilities for tourists. Minister Douglas Devananda, Northern Province
Governor G.A. Chandrasiri and deputy minister M.L.A.M. Hisbulla
accomppanied the minister during the inspection tour (Official
web Portal of the Government of Sri Lanka ; 4 July 2011).

Evidence from the
past -How the LTTE committed atrocities wearing Sri Lankan Army
uniforms - by Ramanie de Zoysa - The LTTE
videos that are circulating widely showing men in uniform torturing,
degrading and killing disrobed prisoners have had an enormous amount
of currency among the gullible and uninitiated while the videos have
been an enormous weapon against the country in the hands of the
enemies of Sri Lanka. For those who have a first hand knowledge of Sri
Lanka and those who have been closely following the events in Sri
Lanka for the past 30 years, the modus operandi of the LTTE has never
been a mystery. It is a fact that the LTTE donned Sri Lanka military
uniforms stolen or stripped from prisoners of war when committing
crimes and spoke in Sinhalese during the execution of the atrocities
for obvious advantages of throwing the shadow of doubt and blame on to
the Sri Lankan Government. Secondly, the LTTE is well known to have
videoed every atrocity they committed against the Sinhala and Muslim
people, firstly for the sadistic enjoyment of the LTTE leader
Prabhakaran who hardly ever left the bunker and secondly for the use
of the videos for precisely such use in the future
(LankaWeb : 4 July 2011).

Good Journalism
Channel Four - by Chandrin Katuwawala -
Channel Fours Sri Lankas Killing Fields is the most biased
one-sided reporting of an international conflict Ive seen in ages.
Sure I bet the Sri Lankan government forces arent saints but there
is a coordinated effort to rewrite what actually happened in this
conflict which I followed to its end. Given the behaviour of the LTTE
from corralling civilian human shields around heavy weaponry, shooting
escaping civilians in the back, basing military positions next to
make-shift hospitals and fighting to the death while holding hundreds
of thousands as hostages there is no better label for them than
die-hard yet cowardly terrorists. Before the LTTEs end, they
targeted civilians with weekly suicide bombing campaigns killing
literally thousands, raided villages and killed all of other
ethnicities including pregnant women, and murdered hundreds of Muslims
at prayer, all in the effort of creating a mono-ethnic fiefdom in Sri
Lanka (LankaWeb
; 4 July 2011).

Defence Ministry,
experts review unaltered video probe launched : Fresh probe launched
- Ample evidence to prove malicious intentions behind doctored
documentary - Conversations in Tamil in unaltered video - Pro-LTTE
elements attempting to disgrace country -
by Disna Mudalige - The Defence Ministry and a panel of experts have
launched a fresh analysis to review the unaltered video used to create
the fake Channel 4 documentary during the last stages of the conflict
in Sri Lanka, Army Media spokesman Major General Ubaya Madewela told
the Daily News yesterday. He said that the unaltered video received by
the Defence Ministry provides ample evidence to prove the malicious
intentions behind the doctored documentary. He observed that in the
unaltered video, conversations of the individuals are in Tamil, even
though those were replaced with Sinhala conversations in the Channel 4
documentary. This ascertains that those are LTTE members, who are
disguised in an attire similar to the Army uniform. He observed that
the Channel 4 documentary is a vain attempt by pro-LTTE elements who
are still active, to disgrace the country in desperation after the
defeat of the LTTE. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation
website yesterday quoting Sri Lankas Deputy Permanent
Representative and UN Ambassador Major General Shavendra Silva stated
that Sinhala dialogues of the Channel 4 video do not match the ground
situation of the incident. Commenting on the individuals in army
uniform, Major General Silva recalled how LTTE cadres dressed in Sri
Lankan Army uniform launched number of attacks, including the
assassination of innocent devotees at the premises of Sri Maha Bodhi
and the Bandaranaike Airport attack. He observed that the Channel 4
documentary had been doctored by LTTE sympathizers to mislead the
international community. Meanwhile, Economic Development Minister
Basil Rajapaksa on Friday stressed that the Channel 4 video is an
attempt to disgrace the Security Forces who liberated the country from
terrorists (Daily
News : 4 July 2011).

Another 552 Ex-LTTE
cadres rehabilitated - By Franklin
R.Satyapalan - Another batch of 552 former LTTE cadres, who had
completed their term of rehabilitation, were reintegrated into the
mainstream of society at a function presided over by the Minister of
Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Chandrasiri Gajadeera at Punthottam
Tamil Vidyalaya in Vavuniya on Monday (4), Commissioner General of
Rehabilitation Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe said. He said that
the remaining 2,950 youths would be successfully rehabilitated and
reintegrated into civil society before the end of this year. Maj. Gen.
Ranasinghe said that in keeping with President Mahinda Rajapaksas
directions the youths had been provided with spiritual, livelihood,
mental and physical training before they were re-integrated into
society as useful citizens. No stone was left unturned to bring out
their creative talents for the benefit of the country and
mankind. He said that the majority of the 552 youth being
re-integrated into society were between the ages of 20 and 35. There
were six women among them. He said: "We have been able to train
and reintegrate 7,968 former LTTE cadres. We are providing all the
youth with skills, livelihood training so that they may commence a
vocation of their choice once re-integrated into society. We have
negotiated with the State banks to give each youth a sum of Rupees
100,000 to 150,000. In fact, last week we met with some youth from the
Elephant Pass area who had been released recently and helped them to
obtain boats and fishing equipment so that they could commence their
livelihoods (Island
; 4 July 2011).

Security Forces
uplift living conditions of northerners -
By Franklin R. Satyapalan - Undeterred by the allegations levelled by
some Tamil people, the security forces personnel, deployed in the
North, continue to engage in many socio-economic activities to uplift
the lives of the people in the peninsula including the construction of
houses, offering of scholarships to schoolchildren and providing
livelihoods to youths, civilian sources in Jaffna said yesterday. When
contacted Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Mahinda
Hathurusinghe said that despite allegations from certain quarters that
the Military was biased "we have always considered the Tamil
people as our own brothers and sisters and treated them all alike at
all times". When questioned about the construction of houses by
the Security Forces the Major General stated that following the advise
of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the primary task would be to win the
hearts and minds of the Tamil people the Secretary Defense Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa instructed the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General
Jagath Jayasuriya to construct as many houses for the IDPs and
uplift their livelihoods (Island
; 4 July 2011).

The bitter truth - by
Wasantha Priya Ramanayake - The possibility exist more about the
victor in a war neglecting the vanquished. However, Dharmasoka of
India and Abraham Lincoln of America did not do so. The Guerillas of
Nagaland waged a war against India similar to the LTTE in our country.
Ultimately the Nagaland guerillas had to surrender to the Indian Army
and surrender all their weapons in queues. The weapons were piled up
like a mountain and together with that the guerillas also surrendered
to the Indian Army. Subsequently India implemented a controversial
devolution of power. The Indian government included a revision to its
constitution formulated by Ambedkar and gave powers to Nagaland not
enjoyed by Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (Daily
News ; 4 July 2011).

No politics for now
- Former LTTE chief arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan, better known
as KP, says he will not discuss politics or think of politics at the
moment as his main goal is to help the war affected Tamils in the
north through his new humanitarian agency. In a live television
interview, Saturday night, Padmanathan also assured security for
former supporters of the LTTE who are living overseas if they wish to
visit Sri Lanka and see for themselves the plight of the Tamils in the
North and the immediate assistance they need.Pathmanathan, who runs a
humanitarian organization called NERDO in Killinochchi, said that
pushing for an Eelam State is not the need of the hour and urged the
Tamil Diaspora to focus their attention on offering food and other
assistance to the war affected Tamils. Despite saying in an earlier
media interview that he knows where most of the LTTE funds are, KP
said he will not betray anyone by naming people or giving detailed
information on those who have the money with them now. "Yes I
said I know who has the money but I did not say I will betray anyone.
My wish is that they themselves will come forward and use the money to
help the people in need," Pathmanathan said in response to a
question in the live interview broadcast on Dan TV in Jaffna (Island
: 3 July 2011).

Why
Prabhakaran did it - Major operations of
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) targeting rival Tamil
leaders or major political leaders were planned and carried out by
their intelligence wing under Pottu Amman after the decision was taken
by the leader Prabhakaran. How does one say Prabhakaran alone took
decisions in the LTTE? This is on the basis of insights gained by
people who have closely interacted with the LTTE and its leader, or
assessments of colleagues, or circumstances that throw light on the
subject. This was a matter that engaged the attention of the Special
Investigation Team (SIT) of the CBI investigating the Rajiv Gandhi
assassination case. Once the investigators established the link
between the blast at Sriperumbudur that assassinated the former prime
minister and 17 others and the assassins who were on the spot  the
one-eyed Sivarasan, the human bomb Dhanu, her companion Subha (all
belonging to the intelligence wing of the LTTE), Nalini and the
deceased photographer, Haribabu, the planning of the assassination,
LTTEs infiltration into Tamil Nadu and the preparing for the
assassination with assistance of a few Indian accomplices began to
unravel (Express
Buzz : 3 July 2011).

Comments submitted
on ABC Four Corners Web Page on July 3, 2011-
by Mahinda Gunasekera - Main segment showing extra-judicial killings
is a digitally altered video per experts with 17 frames and apparently
dubbed Sinhala words not in sync with the rest. Inscribed date on the
video is UTC 2009-07-15 13:17:23, which is after the war ended. The
perpetrators, victims or place of the incident are not known, but John
Snow asserts the victims are Tamils and the perpetrators are Sri
Lankan Army soldiers (LankaWeb
; 3 July 2011).

Tamil youth waves
Eelam flag at Lords - by Sujeeva
Nivunhella at Lords - Young Tamil man ran across the Lords
cricket ground waving a Eelam flag where Sri Lanka played the third
one day international cricket match against England on Sunday. The
incident happened in the 46th over of the match when Lasith Malinga
was bowling. Tamil man ran through the Sri Lankan players who were
fielding at the time. Tamil man was apprehended by the Lords
security staff and then handed him over to the British Police
officers. Sri Lanka acting High Commissioner P.M. Amza who was at the
ground at the time immediately lodged a complain with the England
Cricket Board showing his displeasure. Although the LTTE is a
proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK, it is surprising to see
the Tamil people are allowed to carry Ealam flag by the British
authorities (Island
; 3 July 2011).

Mis-Reading
Prabhakaran: Western Pawns beyond their Depth
- "Prabhakaran would rather commit suicide than compromise."
So wrote a Dutch Christian welfare worker named Ben Bavinck in his
diary on the 5th January 1989 in recording a dialogue with Rajan Hoole.
Bavinck had lived in the Jaffna heartland for years and knew Tamil
like a native. It took other Sri Lankans much longer to learn this
lesson. After two peace agreements had been unilaterally dismantled by
the LTTE in April 1996 and August 2006 most Sri Lankans, whether
governmental or not, knew this fully well. The LTTE would not
compromise. When the LTTE found itself on the military slide from 2008
this unyielding attitude translated into an act that even surpasses
the actions of the Japanese at Saipan in June-July 1944. They
persuaded and/or forced some 320,000 Tamil people, their people, to
retreat ahead of them into ever-shrinking territory. These people, now
in 2008/09, SERVED as their labour pool, human sandbags and bargaining
chip. This horrendous strategy was predicated on do-gooders of poor
intelligence and large hearts intervening to prevent a humanitarian
catastrophe. David Miliband and Bernard Kouchner were among the
simpletons who became Prabhakarans cats paw. Miliband and
Kouchner even visited Sri Lanka in April 2009 to call for a ceasefire
(Island : 3 July 2011).

PSCs observations
on selected NGOs - by C.A.Chandraprema - In
the course of their deliberations, the Parliamentary Select Committee
on NGOs made certain observations on selected organisations which we
publish below. It should be borne in mind that the interim report of
the PSC on NGOs was signed by the UPFA, the UNP and the JVP; National
Peace Council ; It is reported that the National Peace Council too is
a Non Governmental Organization operating to propagate federalism. An
Organizer of the National Peace Council once attended a protest in
Geneva and also made a speech at a rally held later which ended with
the singing of the song of emancipation of the LTTE together. This
organization which questions the need for sovereignty has spoken about
a sovereignty divided into two and of two very close countries. The
National Peace Council has engaged in a movement to brainwash the
people of Sri Lanka, which is very similar to the activities of the
Burghof Foundation. They have acted very enthusiastically in promoting
federalism (Island
; 3 July 2011).

Media
Release by SPUR (New Zealand) - "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields"
, the documentary to be screened on 04 July 2011 in Four Corners on
ABC - Dear Kerry O'Brian and the Four
Corners Team, I am writing this on behalf of " New Zealand
Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights in Sri Lanka". We
understand that ABC is planning to screen on 4the and 5th July 2011
the documentary called " Sri Lanka's Killing Fields",
produced by Channel 4 in Britain. We carefully watched this
documentary after it was screened by Channel 4 and believe that it is
a piece of work that was diabolically designed as a propaganda work
for the terrorist outfit known as Tamil Tigers or the LTTE, which has
been declared as a terrorist organization by several countries
including USA, Canada and the European Union. The horrific terrorist
activities of the LTTE has subsided in Sri Lanka at present due to the
death of it's then leader Prabhakaran along with his terrorist cadre
in May 2009. However, recent reports that are coming from around the
world indicate that the LTTE is regrouping and has launched an
international a propaganda campaign to recruit cadres, mainly from the
Tamil Diaspora around the world. Some well known media organizations
and International NGOs are, knowingly or unknowingly, supporting this
propaganda effort by the LTTE. ABC's reputation as an independent
media organization is seriously threatened if this international
terrorist propaganda is screened. LTTE in their long drawn armed
terrorist movement is well known for filming their battles with the
Sri Lankan government forces in the past. They have published them in
their TV / Radio channel called "Voice of Tigers" (VOT) and
screened especially at their combat training camps as a tool to
inspire their cadres. At the beginning of 2009, they were aware that
the impending battles for Killinochchi and Mullaitivu could be
decisive and resorted to some innovative tactics like erecting earth
bunds and digging artificial canals etc. They continued their filming
activities as in the past, to utilize these films for their propaganda
purposes (SPUR - New Zealand)

An
important message to the Australian Public-ABC TVs Four Corners
Program on Monday 4 July 2011 at 8:30 pm
- MEDIA RELEASE -SRI LANKA SUPPORT GROUP, CANBERRA Mr Kerry OBrien
is going to air the infamous UK Channel 4s documentary  Sri
Lankas Killing Fields on Monday 4 July 2011 on ABC TV Four
Corners. This program alleges that Sri Lanka committed extra judicial
killings of Tamil civilians and Tamil Tiger terrorists in Sri Lanka,
in the last stages of the war against the Tamil Tigers in 2009. We say
that this program is filled with lies, deception and fabrication. It
is reported that segments related to the alleged executions and
several other images have appeared in a Tamil Tiger terrorist
propaganda video previously (the original video). It is alleged that
in the Channel 4 video the atrocities committed by the Tamil Tigers
are dubbed in as those committed by the Sri Lankan Army. It is alleged
that the Tamil voices in the original video have been changed to
Sinhalese voices by using a different sound track. The Sinhalese
voices do not correspond or relate in any way at all to the actions of
the Channel 4 video. Watch the original Tamil video below: (LankaWeb
: 4 July 2011).

Lanka Army claims to
have found real video of Channel 4 docu -
The Sri Lankan military has claimed that the original version of a
British channel's "doctored" documentary depicting rights
violations by the Army has been found and it shows "brutal
killings" of soldiers by the LTTE during the last phase of the
war. The Army said a private TV channel had found the real footage of
the "doctored version" of the documentary which shows
exactly the opposite of what the Channel 4 aired. "This video
obtained by a private TV station shows the brutal killings of soldiers
by the LTTE," military spokesman Major General Ubhaya Madawela
told BBC. He said the "real" video's footage carry Tamil
conversations opposed to the Sinhala conversations heard in the
"doctored" video. Channel 4's documentary Sri Lanka Killing
Fields aired in the UK had carried gruesome pictures of executions of
LTTE cadres at the hands of government troops. "We know many of
our soldiers were taken captive by the LTTE during the war. Only a
very few of them were handed over via the ICRC," Madawela said.
"Now we can think that those who are shown being shot and killed
are those soldiers who to date remain missing," Madawela
stressed. He said the private channel which carried the real footage
had handed over the tapes to the Army for verification. Sri Lanka had
earlier dismissed the documentary as an attempt to discredit the
government through a fake video (Hindustan
Times : 3 July 2011).

Weiss gets wiser:
denies 40,000 figure - ?H. L. D.
Mahindapala - Gordon Weiss, former UN spokesperson in Colombo, who
claimed that 40,000 died in the last stages of the Vadukoddai War
between January 2009 and May 18, 2009, has revised his figures again.
When he was in Sri Lanka he put the figure at 7,000. After he left his
UN job and went to Australia he jacked it up to 40,000 to
sensationalize his book, The Cage. At a book launch held in Melbourne
last week, he changed his figure again and came down to 10,000 under
questioning by Chanaka Bandarage, a lawyer. Bandarage then asked why
the brochure had mentioned 40,000. Weiss had disowned responsibility
and passed the buck to the Deakin University which produced the
brochure. Rohan Bastin, a Sri Lankan-born academic, organized this
book launch. Bastin who was relying on Weisss figures was
shame-faced and had nothing to say about the discrepancy in the Deakin
University figures and the revised figures quoted by Weiss. This
denial by Weiss blows up the fictitious figure of 40,000 mentioned in
the report of the Advisory Panel of Experts (APEs) appointed by Ban Ki-Moon,
the UN Secretary General. It also blasts the myths of the anti-Sri
Lankan NGOs and pundits who went to the town with Weisss figure of
40,000. The local pundits in NGOs (example: Sanjana Hattotuwa of the
Centre for Peace Alternative) also concluded that the book was an
indictment of the war conducted by the Security Forces. But the
accusers are not agreed on the critical issue of the number of
casualties. Loud-mouth Hattotuwa in his review too avoided the
discrepancies in the number of casualties. Obviously, it does not fit
with his condemnation of the conduct of the war by the government (LankaWeb
: 3 July 2011).

Former LTTE leader KP
says his main focus is on helping war affected Tamil community
- Former international wing leader and chief arms procurer of the LTTE,
Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP says his main aim is to help the war
affected Tamil community in the North and that an Eelam State was not
the need of the hour. Pathmanathan has said that priority would be
given to helping the war affected Tamils through his new humanitarian
agency and that he would not discuss politics or think about it at
present. He has made these comments during a live interview on Dan TV
in Jaffna that was telecast on Saturday night. Sri Lankan authorities
arrested KP in a south Asian country in August 2009 and brought to the
country. He has been detained by the government since then. However,
Padmanathan now operates a humanitarian organization called North
Eastern Rehabilitation and Development Organization (NERDO) in
Kilinochchi. He has said that pushing for an Eelam State is not the
need of the hour and has urged the Tamil Diaspora to focus their
attention on offering food and other assistance to the war affected
Tamil community (Colombo
Page : 3 July 2011).

Sri Lanka: Recent
accusations and some relevant facts
- Published in June 2011 News Letter of New Zealand Society for
Peace, Unity and Human Rights in Sri Lanka - Background ; A much
publicized video titled Sri Lankas Killing Fields, produced
by Channel 4 of the UK, was screened on 14 June 2011 followed by
rescreening of it by various national TV channels including those in
New Zealand. According to the presenter, Jon Snow, the video
represented devastating evidence of war crimes and crimes against
humanity believing that it supports a powerful case for bringing those
guilty of these crimes to justice. There is no doubt that some of the
scenes shown by Channel 4 were most horrific and gruesome. The
declared motive of the Director, Callum Macrea, to air this
documentary was to insist that Sri Lanka has to be tried for crimes
against humanity and of war crimes committed during the final few
months of the war against Tamil Tigers (LTTE). SPURNZ views with
concern the notion apparently shared by many western nations that Sri
Lankas actions during the closing stages of the long drawn war
against the internationally proscribed band of terrorists require
scrutiny despite the fact that these terrorists, during a nearly
30-year armed insurrection against a democratically elected
government, were responsible of killing using suicide bombers an
elected Prime Minister of India, an elected President of Sri Lanka,
maiming another elected President of and murdering numerous democratic
political leaders of the Tamil community and thousands after thousand
s of innocent civilians both belonging to the Sinhala and Tamil
community
(LankaWeb ; 1 July 2011).

Sri
Lanka military says real video of Channel 4 visuals found
- Sri Lankan military today claimed that the real footage of the
''doctored version'' of the British television Channel 4 aired
documentary has been found. "This video obtained by a private TV
station shows the brutal killings of soldiers by the LTTE,"
military spokesman Major General Ubhaya Madawela told BBC. He said the
real video's footage carry Tamil conversations opposed to the Sinhala
conversations in the Channel 4's doctored video. "We know many of
our soldiers were taken captive by the LTTE during the war. Only a
very few of them were handed over via the ICRC," Madawela said.
"Now we can think that those who are shown being shot and killed
are those soldiers who to date remain missing," Madawela
stressed. He said the private channel which carried the real footage
had handed the tapes to the Army for verification. British TV station
channel 4's documentary 'Sri Lanka Killing Fields' aired in the UK
carried gruesome pictures of executions of LTTE cadres at the hands of
government troops. Sri Lanka dismissed the documentary as an attempt
to discredit the government through a fake video
(Deccan Herald : 3 July 2011).

By Dr
Palitha Kohona, Sri Lankas Permanent Representative to the
United Nations (UN).

Govt
exploring avenues for legal action : Channel 4 video, a blatant lie
- Dr Kohona - By Shanika SRIYANANDA - Sri Lankas Permanent
Representative to the United Nations Dr. Palitha Kohona said the
commentator John Snow and the UK-based Channel 4 (Ch-4), which made
the video  Sri Lankas Killing Fields - depending heavily on
information from the LTTEs propaganda arm, TamilNet, had
deliberately produced the video to influence international public
opinion and arouse sympathy towards the LTTE and its cause. Dr. Kohona,
together with his deputy, Maj. Gen. Shavendra Silva, had exposed the
technical lies in the video at a screening of the documentary at
the UN Church Centre in New York, sponsored by Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group, on June 22. The
commentary is heavily biased towards the LTTE propaganda watch. This
is obvious from the pictures and phrases used and the way John Snow
tries so hard to create sympathy towards the LTTE cause. It is just
unmistakable, one would describe his commentary as gut-wrenching,
he said. In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer Dr. Kohona,
who is now in Sri Lanka, discussed the motive of Ch-4, the initiatives
taken by the Government to save Tamils facing LTTE terror and future
action against Ch-4. He said they had dealt with the video adequately
at its screening. Excerpts of the interview:
(Sunday Observer : 3 July 2011).

The
government reaffirms Channel-4 video on Sri Lanka is fabricated and
fake - The government reaffirms Channel-4
video on Sri Lanka is fabricated and fake. Sri Lankas Deputy
Permanent Representative and Ambassador of the UN Major General
Shavendra Silva says unaltered video, which used to create channel-4
film, stands as a testimony to show that the intention of the creators
of the video is to mislead the international community. People who
appeared in the video which was broadcast over the channel-4 spoke in
Sinhala and same people talk in the original copy in Tamil. Sinhala
dialogues of the Channel-4 video do not match the ground situation of
the incident. Major General Shavendra Silva says that some people
appeared in the video are in the Sri Lankan Army uniform. He recalls
that LTTE cadres dressed in Sri Lankan Army uniform to launch a number
of attacks including assassinating innocent devotees at the premises
of Sri Maha Bodhi, Katunayaka Airport attack. Major General Silva
further said that he put forward concrete evidences to show how the
video was doctored by the LTTE sympathisers. He added that the
challenge posed both by him and Dr. Palitha Kohona has not been
answered by the creators of the video, yet (SLBC
: 3 July 2011).

Is PSC the only way
out? - PSC welcomed by many parties - No
time frame to finalise its findings - JVP will not participate in PSC
- SLMC does not believe in a PSC - By Wilson Gnanadass - As finding a
solution through the parliament that is acceptable to all the
communities appears to be the most democratic way of solving problems
in a sovereign nation, somehow, with regard to the ethnic question
there has never been a consensus at parliamentary level from the
inception. This has consistently given the Tamil minority a degree of
suspicion. The stage is now set to appoint a Parliamentary
Select Committee (PSC) to find a political solution to the national
question. Though it was Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise
Development minister and EPDP leader Douglas Devananda who initially
made this proposal to the recently visiting Indian delegation and then
subsequently to the President, it appears the government has now
hijacked it from Devananda. If this gave Devananda the much needed
credit for making this bold suggestion, it still gives more acclaim to
President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his willingness to implement it so
expeditiously. It appears during the process of the PSC deliberations
by various political party representatives there will be a point of
intersection and that point could well be the provenance of the
political solution of the government, as pointed out recently by
external affairs minister Prof. G. L. Peiris to the press. The PSC on
that basis has been welcomed by many political parties and analysts
who look at positively and objectively in finding a solution to this
dragging problem that has been a bane of the countrys economy.
Having won a war spending billions of rupees, the government now feels
that it is high time a political solution is found though it also
admits it is too late. According to the latest information, the Sri
Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) central committee has already given its
consent for the setting up of the PSC and this proposal would be
officially placed in parliament on Tuesday (5) by the leader of the
House and Irrigation and Water Resources Management minister Nimal
Siripala de Silva. The PSC, a 31-member strong committee with quasi
judicial powers will then be appointed formally by the Speaker
subsequently. Strict time frame (The
Nation : 3 July 2011).

Moon, RW to watch
channel 4 - United Nations Secretary
General Ban Ki moon would possibly watch the controversial Channel 4
video before the planned meeting with Sri Lankas opposition leader
Ranil Wickremesinghe, Inner City Press reported. We have actually
shared the video with the Secretary General. When he has time, we
expect that hell see it, acting deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq
told Inner City Press. General Secretary of the United National Party,
Tissa Attanayake, said that Wickremasinghe already met with US State
Department officials, but was unable to confirm the meeting with UN
Secretary General (The
Nation : 3 July 2011).

They
should watch the original video footage, not the one doctored by the
Western media.

Video expert calls
for judicial review of program - Siri Hewavitharana
- Internationally renowned expert in broadcast video systems and
Executive Director IPTV Systems Australia Siri Hewavitharana in a
brief interview with the Sunday Observer, said the British
broadcasting industry, which was respected and produced the best
broadcast technologists in the world, now going down the path that
glorifies terrorists was a disturbing issue. Hewavitharana, who has
exposed Channel 4s digital manipulation of pictures for its
controversial Killing Fields documentary, said the program
consists of fake videos that were digitally altered, fake stills and a
producer using false narratives that amounts to absolute dishonesty on
the part of the producer. I was a product of British broadcasting
and my teachers were the cream of British broadcasting. The company I
worked for in London was one of the top broadcast companies in the
world with two Emmy Awards. They produce amazing digital broadcast
products used by all global broadcasters. I was very proud of my
teachers and my team and also the fact that I was part of the
technical team that produced the two Emmy-winning programs, he
said. Hewavitharana, former Head of CISCOs global broadcast and
digital video practice and of Systems Engineering for Star TV Hong
Kong, explained one of the fake pictures in the video, that of a boys
head blown off and a pool of blood nearby. He said the isolated pixel
mapping indicates pixels that have been manipulated using a digital
paint brush to show blood. He said the video and stills were digitally
paintbrushed to show blood from the boys face but the blood pixels
do not match the surroundings of the video. This has never come
from a mobile phone. There are many other factors to prove the fake
nature of the video. It is an attempt to give fresh breath for
terrorism, he said. Hewavitharana said Ch-4 has non linear editors
such as AVID. If they cared to use them, they would have seen the
metadata layer and the fake technical data. The question is who did
this digital alteration; was it by the Ch-4 producers or by the terror
group that provided the fake video? The expert stressed the need
for a judicial review of the video footage, witnesses and the
so-called journalists involved (Sunday
Observer : 3 July 2011).

International
Humanitarian Law  at all times - applicable to LTTE atrocities
- By Daya Gamage - Western nations, prominently led by the United
States, since the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE/Tamil
Tigers) in May 2009 have systematically sharpened their maneuvers to
first, strategically communicate to the rest of the world that the
Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) was responsible for violating the
International Humanitarian Law and globally accepted human rights
practices to whip up anti-Sri Lankan sentiments in Western capitals
and among the lawmakers, and two, to create a voice to force the
United Nations to bring Sri Lanka to international scrutiny preparing
the path to prosecute its leaders for crimes against humanity, human
rights abuses, war crimes and genocide at the international
court. The initiative was well taken by the U.S. State
Department in maintaining a rapport with pro-Eelam elements in the
U.S. which obviously encouraged them to lobby U.S. lawmakers providing
them with information about the genocidal Sri Lankan regime
which led to many representations by Congressmen to the Office of U.S.
Secretary of State urging Hilary Clinton to bring pressure on the GSL
for an accountability process of its execution of the war between
January through May 2009. Assistant secretary of state for South
Asia Robert Blake refused to disclose the identities of the Sri Lankan
Tamil expatriate attendees at several dialogues he initiated at his
Washington office to a media query by the Asian Tribune citing
confidentiality of the discourses. The State Departments
Office of War Crimes Issues released the Sri Lanka War Crimes
report with ambiguous and unsubstantiated information by its head
Ambassador Stephen Rapp providing enough ammunition to US lawmakers
and some nations in the European Union creating a conducive atmosphere
for a section of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora in the U.S. and Europe
to bring Sri Lanka to the dock with allegations of war crimes and
genocide. The culmination of this exercise by many elements is
the production of the War Crimes Report popularly known as the
Darusman Report by the panel appointed by the United Nations
Secretary General Ban ki-Moon (Asian
Tribune : 3 July 2011).

Resolution on PSC in
parliament this week - By Wilson
Gnanadass - The government is expected to place before parliament its
resolution to set up a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to find a
political solution to the national question on Tuesday (5). The
proposal would formally be presented to parliament by Leader of the
House and minister of irrigation and water resource management Nimal
Siripala de Silva. The preamble of the draft is titled National
Integration and Reconciliation and calls for a solution through the
PSC to the protracted national question. According to highly placed
government sources the PSC that will have a quasi judicial power will
comprise 31 members, with the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA)
government nominating 19 members to the PSC. There are 16 political
parties currently supporting the UPFA government including the Sri
Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) which is the dominant party of the
coalition government. Accordingly, all 16 parties would be given the
opportunity to nominate one member each from their respective
political parties to the PSC while the SLFP being the principal party
of the UPFA would be given the liberty to nominate three more
additional members to the Committee. Thus, the SLFP will have four
members in the PSC. The sources also said that the other members of
the PSC will be drawn from among the 12 opposition political parties
represented in parliament. Following the submission of the proposal,
Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa is expected to summon all the party leaders
and request them to nominate their members to the PSC. The Nation
reliably learns that there will be no fixed time frame to conclude the
PSC sessions contrary to the requests made by some of the Tamil
political parties. EPDP leader and traditional industries and small
enterprise development minister Douglas Devananda has already proposed
to President Mahinda Rajapaksa that a PSC should have a time frame and
the deliberations should reach its final stage between about three to
six months. Meanwhile as the government plans to formulate the PSC
with a view to finding a political solution to the national question,
already some political parties have expressed their aversion to such a
formation, claiming it is a waste of time. However the
government is keen to find a solution through a PSC that would be
acceptable to all. It is also believed if a PSC is formed, it would
put the lid on the ongoing government  TNA talks (The
Nation : 3 July 2011).

Film described as misleading
and misrepresentative: UKs Ofcom to probe Channel 4 documentary
- The UK Governments Office of Communications (Ofcom) is to
investigate the veracity of Channel 4s recent documentary Sri
Lankas killing Fields following complaints that it was
misleading and misrepresentative. British-based TV website TV Pixie,
in a report filed by Alex Guest, disclosed that Ofcom would probe the
program, presented by Jon Snow and produced by Callum Macrae. Ofcom is
the UKs Independent regulator and competition authority for the
communications industries. Ofcom will assess the complaints against
the program under their Broadcasting Code to see if it needs further
investigation and action. Ofcom is empowered to fine the broadcaster(s)
if it determines that the Code has been violated. Ofcom has received
over 100 complaints since the film was aired on Channel 4 on June 14.
Alex Guest commented that it is within the realm of possibilities that
the additional material (presented by Channel 4) was partially or even
entirely fabricated. If Channel 4 has fabricated material or
attempted to mislead the public through editing, Ofcom will see fit to
censure the broadcaster. I await the conclusion of the
investigation. Sri Lankan diplomats and leading forensic video
experts had contested Channel 4s claims of accuracy. Meanwhile, Sri
Lankan authorities on Friday revealed that they were in possession of
an original video which had been altered by Channel 4. This video was
subsequently aired by Swarnavahini. The TV station said the footage
was originally in Tamil and was dubbed into Sinhala by Channel 4 to
discredit the Sri Lankan Security Forces. Major Gen. Shavendra Silva,
commenting live on the original, unaltered video, told viewers
that Channel 4 didnt take up the challenge to prove the videos
authenticity. Maj. Gen. Silva said the video actually depicted LTTE
cadres dressed in Sri Lanka military uniforms and vowed to expose more
lies by Channel 4. Earlier in New York, he had successfully exposed
Channel 4s duplicitous conduct at a screening of the documentary
organised by Amnesty International (Sunday
Observer ; 3 July 2011).

Sri
Lanka High Commission in Canberra has lodged a strong protest to
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Australia

Channel 4, the lost
responsibility on Journalism ! - by
Channa E. Katuwawalage - Now this Channel 4s video on Sri
Lanka Killing Fields has raised serious questions on its authenticity.
Inability of Channel 4 to verify the credibility of the sources from
which Channel 4 has received these videos which they claim to be of
Sri Lankan Security Forces committing so-called war crimes has
shown the lack of Channel 4s professionalism. Even the top
officials and the various spokesmen of Western and European countries
who issued statements on the video are in a state of swallowing their
words. Meanwhile, Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka has issued a
detailed report exposing the truth of the Channel 4 videos and the
motives behind airing the same. As per the report, Channel 4 is an
institution with closer contacts with LTTE and pro-LTTE elements
oversees and in favor of them, Channel 4 has so far published more
than 30 articles and released 04 videos but with insufficient
attention to verifying their reliability. The first incident Channel 4
came into light was once the Channel 4 crew in Sri Lanka were deported
by the government of Sri Lanka in May 2009 (during the last stages of
Sri Lankas civil war) after having identified their links to LTTE
and working on spreading false evidences favoring LTTE terrorists. One
of them was a photograph of an IDP Centre giving the impression that
the Tamils were kept as prisoners similar to Nazi Concentration Camps
in Germany. It also stated that they have taken these photographs from
a high rise building. However, the report states that there are no
high rise buildings in the vicinity of IDP Centers. At the last stages
of Sri Lankas Civil War, innocent civilians poured into
government-controlled areas seeking protection. Among them there were
close family members of hard-core LTTE terrorists. With no
discrimination between civilians and LTTE cadres, Sri Lankan Security
Forces treated them humanly. Children, aged people, pregnant women
were rescued; the injured received immediate medical assistance.
Moreover, the surrendered ex-combatants were rehabilitated and
integrated to the civil society. The report has given the figures of
the surrendees reintegrated and who are been rehabilitating at present
(Sinhalaya
News Agency ; 3 July 2011).

World is full of
Goebbells - A response to the interview
Namini Wijedasa had with UN Rapporteur Christof Heyns - By
Maj.Gen.(retired) Lalin Fernando - Namini Wijedasas mention of small
nations when she interviewed Heyns (part time UN expert) gave him
the opportunity to blaze back with his holier than thou comparison
that it is irrelevant how large or small the country concerned is.She
should instead have asked him there is a difference when alleged crimes
are committed by black eyes and not white eyes and asked him whether
that too was irrelevant. Heyns appears to be cock sure of his facts
and throws back everything that was put across to him with a legal
smoothness that even his Apartheid back ground cannot repel. He says
tens of thousands were killed which is not bad for him being a
specialist in law and not accounts or even in arithmetic. He doesnt
say exactly by whom.He was careful not to give proof..He forgot to
tell us how he arrived at these figures and who was responsible and
where they were buried except to point his finger at SL. What really
proves his expertise and which Ban ki Moon must give him a medal for,
is that he is sure that the language used by the alleged killers was
Sinhala.How proficient he has become to recognise a language he has
never ever heard spoken before. Did he also know that the language
used by the men killing people with weapons in the original video (
that cast four doubts), was in Tamil? Obviously. SL Tamil Navi Pllai
another good looking (looks good?) South African UN expert(HR) has not
been wasting her off time.That was probably how Heyns understood
Sinhala and why the 4 doubts have now been resolved (as far as Heyns
the linguist also is concerned). Curious is the fact that those who
prospered in Apartheid South Africa that treated blacks worse than
dogs (remember the bill boards in white city parks pre 1994 that said
Dogs and blacks not allowed are the very people who are in the
hugely over paid UN jobs pontificating to the world in HR.Heyns is
obviously from Boer stock that for a century ran a country that gave
Hitler (Huns and Nazis) a good run for governance, HR and morality
which are Heyns attributes he will have us believe (Sinhale
Hot News : 3 July 2011).

ABC urged to stop
screening of CH 4 film - by Shanika
SRIYANANDA - Sri Lankas High Commission in Australia, which
protested the screening of Channel 4 video Sri Lankas Killing
Fields on ABCs Four Corners Program, has written to the
Executive Producer Sue Spencer requesting to avoid telecasting the
documentary, as it is completely biased and contains unsubstantiated
allegations against the Government of Sri Lanka. Acting High
Commissioner Shashikala Premawardena, who also had a telephone
conversation with Spencer, had urged the ABC not to give any coverage
to the video as the views expressed in the documentary were without
any guarantee of authenticity. The program is tentatively scheduled
for telecast on ABC1 tomorrow. In her letter to Spencer, she has
described the LTTEs brutality in executing civilians, policemen,
leaders of the country, religious dignataries and also all those who
went against the LTTE. There is a possibility that this footage is
from LTTE executions that have been released to discredit the Sri
Lankan government. The military uniforms of the individuals do not
clearly establish that they are Sri Lankan Army personnel. The shots
in the video clip could well be a treatment meted out by the LTTE in
Army uniform. The obvious bias of the program is further illustrated
by the fact that a major portion of the video footage has been
acquired from the LTTE and its sources, she said. She also stated
that the portrayal of the ground situation in the program is as if the
LTTE never existed in the areas that were being filmed and the
Government forces were deliberately targeting innocent civilians. This
is a clear distortion of facts and the ground reality that existed at
that time. Another aspect which did not get captured in the Channel 4
program was that the LTTE was a formidable fighting force that had
developed a conventional military capability, Premawardena said (Sunday
Observer : 3 July 2011).

Sri Lanka taken off
US human trafficking watch list - An
annual US State Department Report on Trafficking in Persons that
grades each country, elevated Sri Lankas status in 2011, noting
increased prosecutions of human traffickers and more aggressive
efforts by the government to protect trafficking victims. The Report
was unveiled by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Sri Lankan
government increased law enforcement efforts in addressing human
trafficking cases over the reporting period. Sri Lanka prohibits all
forms of trafficking through an April 2006 Amendment to its Penal
Code, which prescribes punishment of up to 20 years imprisonment,
the report said. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and
commensurate with those prescribed for other serious offences, such as
rape. The State Department report grades countries in four
categories: Tiers 1, 2, Tier 2 Watch List and Tier 3. It ranks
more than 180 countries including the United States. In 2011, the
State Department took Sri Lanka off the watch list and graded it at
the same level as a large number of countries, including Japan,
Iceland and Switzerland. The report lists more than 75 Tier 2
countries, which are making significant efforts to comply with
international trafficking in persons standards. This is positive
recognition of Sri Lankas progress on our efforts to prevent human
trafficking and the abuse of those who travel abroad seeking
employment, said Sri Lankas ambassador to the United States
Jaliya Wickramasuriya. The report said, The Sri Lankan government
made some progress in its efforts to prevent trafficking during the
past year. The government formed an inter-ministerial anti-trafficking
Task Force in October 2010, led by a coordinator from the Ministry of
Justice, and developed a terms of reference on how government agencies
will work together to combat trafficking. (Sunday
Observer : 3 July 2011).

THE GLAMOUR BOYS OF WAR CRIMINALITY PARTY TO
DEATH IN LIBYA - by Malinda Seneviratne -
Courtesy Lakbima News Paper in Sri Lanka Say one thing, do something
else. See certain things, but not others. Take umbrage at nothing and
keep mum over the horrifying. Give a penny, take dollar (or Euro).
Help and demand pound of flesh for services rendered. Sorry, 100
pounds of flesh, closest to the heart, blood and all. This, ladies and
gentlemen, is the nutshell version of US foreign policy. It describes
also the UK, France and other countries in the West. Sadly, our
friends across the Palk Straits seem to have figured this is the
foreign policy framework that has to be adopted if they are to qualify
for membership among the big-boy thugs of the world. These are friends,
the kinds who people like Dayan Jayatilleka believe we must worship on
account of geo-political realities in the quest for modernity.
We should barter sovereignty, submit to land-theft proposals (as such
are demanded by Eelamists), erase history, culture and
civilization-mark and so on, for all this. Britain claims it is
carrying out an independent investigation on Sri Lanka. The EU already
has. Barack Obamas right something, Ban Ki-moon, corrupt to the
core and slavish beyond the point of duty to Western interests,
appointed some jokers to manufacture a report that can buttress demand
for such an investigation. Whats new in this world, ladies and
gentlemen (LankaWeb
; 3 July 2011).

KPs Abode Of
Love Officially Open - By Raisa
Wickrematunge - Anpu Illam, translated, means Abode of Love.
This Abode happens to be a childrens home in Mullaitivu, in
Muthaiyankattu village, to be precise. Mullaitivu saw its fair share
of carnage. It was once an LTTE stronghold. The fact that the rebels
held a military base there meant there were many fierce battles waged
before the Army wrested control of the area in January 2009. Many
children lost their parents or relatives, or were separated from their
families during the final stages, ending up in different IDP camps.
This is where Anpu Illam comes in; children in this war-torn area
could certainly use a place to go to. In fact, Anpu Illam is built on
the site of an LTTE-run orphanage, then known as Punniya Bhoomi.
This childrens home though, is unusual for another reason. The
orphanage was recently officially declared open. Among those who
attended was a visibly emotional Selvarasa (alias Kumaran)
Pathmanathan, the ex-LTTE chief. Pathmanathan has a controversial
past. Widely known as the chief arms procurer for the LTTE, he
currently has a red notice issued against him, and is listed as
a wanted person by Interpol. He is also wanted by India in
connection with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. He was arrested in
a South East Asian country, and brought to Sri Lanka in August 2009.
He is yet to be produced in a civil court. Anpu Illam is run by a
non-profit organisation known as the North East Rehabilitation
Development Organisation (NERDO), of which Pathmanathan is the
Secretary. NERDO worker Nathan confirmed that Pathmanathan was part of
the committee in charge of ensuring the smooth running of the
operation. Anpu Illam was a pet project of KPs, he said. His
dream is to provide education for war-affected children, Nathan
explained. In fact, this is the first project suggested by KP that has
been approved (Sunday
Leader : 3 July 2011).

Demo planned in
London against Channel 4 - By Sujeeva
Nivunhella in London - A demonstration has been planned opposite the
Channel 4 Television station in London on Sunday, July 17 from 1 pm to
5 pm against the documentary "Sri Lankas Killing
Fields". This protest has been organized by the Sri
Lankans in the UK. One of the organizers said that the Channel 4 is
carrying out a biased, malicious campaign against Sri Lanka and it is
time for all Sri Lankans to unite to show solidarity. He said that
there are a large number of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Burghers
have volunteered to attend this protest. The Sunday Island learns that
the television regulator Ofcom is planning to investigate the
programme as there were a large number of complaints the documentary
was one-sided
(Island ; 2 July 2011).

Post-war
rehabilitation funds drying up - by
Shamindra Ferdinando - With the resettlement of approximately 300,000
war displaced people rapidly nearing completion in the Vanni region,
the international community is likely to review its funding
arrangements regarding post-war recovery projects. There is a
likelihood of major donors reducing assistance in spite of the
government not having considered the possibility at the moment. UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in its
Joint Humanitarian and Early Recovery Update released on June 24
revealed the impending drop in assistance to the Vanni community.
"The European Commission intends to phase out its humanitarian
engagement in Sri Lanka by the end of 2012, as development programs
escalate in the conflict-affected region," UNOCHA said. No
comment from European Commission in spite of reaching relevant
authorities on Friday. Sources speculated that other donors, too,
could review their position following the EC indicating its plans.
UNOCHA also revealed that by June 22, 2011, they had been able to
raise $ 62 mn (21.8 per cent) of a total requirement of $ 289 mn for
the successful implementation of Joint Plan of Assistance for the
Northern Province.
(Island ; 2 July 2011).

Sri Lankas
humanitarian effort: How the state met Northern food needs
- Extracts from the Presidential Task Force for Resettlement,
Development and Security in the Northern Province 2011 Report - A
special logistical hub was set up in Vavuniya by the government with
WFP and UN agencies to facilitate the storage of nearly 5000MT of food
and non-food items in order to accelerate supplies to the Vanni. This
was to ensure speedy supplies to the Vanni and to reduce the
turnaround time of the supply fleet. The process in the uncleared
areas was monitored by ICRC in consultation with the respective GAs.
In the final stages, delivery of essential supplies to Kilinochchi and
Mullaithivu districts were escorted by the ICRC. Even on occasions
where the ICRC was hesitant to escort the convoys, the government
ensured that the movement of supplies continued. However, governments
total control in the distribution of essentials to the population was
limited. LTTE always took first choice of all supplies sent, and
giving the leftover to the civilian population. Shortcomings and
bottlenecks affecting supplies were brought to the notice of the CGES
and the government ministries by GAs and to the CCHA by the respective
sub-committees almost on real time basis and decisions were taken
promptly to remedy the situation. Mechanisms were set in place to
avoid delays while going through checkpoints with the assistance and
co-operation of the Security Forces. To ease cross loading and delays
at Medawachchiya and Omanthai check points, special arrangements were
made for government /WFP trucks to be checked and sealed in Colombo by
Sri Lanka Army (SLA). However delays in uncleared areas were reported
frequently
(Daily News ; 2 July 2011).

The Untold Side on
War Crimes - by Gomin Dayasiri - Is the
choreography being reset for a second coming after a failed bid to
enter by an armed intervention on a beach front near Nandikadal
Lagoon? This time it is not an amphibious landing by US Marines in
camouflaged fatigues but well-oiled inmates from judicial homes of
elders in moth balled suits, entering a courthouse with a blinded
scale of justice and a sharpened hatchet in either hand: impatient to
tweet a judgment. Attempt for a military intervention failed by a
narrow squeak. Roberto Blake made a thrust on the Ministry of Defence
- deflected with a neat glide of a possible blood bath with an
unpredictable Prabhakaran and of geo-political complications
surrounding the seas around India; undeterred Blake rushed to India
House to meet High Commissioner Alok Prasad to place a proposition to
insert the Marines. New Delhis South Block were aghast of an American
military flotilla berthed in their private swimming pool in this part
of the Indian Ocean. Mildly put, Blake ended with egg in face. Embassy
Street, twitters, Blake did not take the rebuff well and holds it
against Sri Lanka for sending him down a blind alley to look a silly.
That probably speaks for his attitude on Sri Lanka. After a transition
from an authoritarian to a democratic regime or from war to peace, to
supposedly test accountability, provide justice and foster
reconciliation, a mechanism branded post conflict justice a.k.a
transitional justice has been designed. This is a on your
marks-get set position to await the sound of the starters gun to
fire, to run for an international judicial intervention. In a nutshell
to create an opening for foreign interference (post conflict) in the
domestic sphere in the name of humanitarian laws now compressed and
canonized as R2P
(Lankaweb : 2 July 2011).

4 fiasco will face
natural death soon - Basil - by Chaminda
Perera - The massive propaganda campaign carried out by treacherous
elements in foreign countries against the countrys
sovereignty and independence resulted in the controversial Darusman
Report, the infamous video footage telecast by British Channel 4,
among others, said Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa.
He said that the much talked about Channel 4 fiasco will face a
natural death. The original audio and visual clip are now with the Sri
Lankan authorities. The minister said Sri Lankan authorities had the
original Channel 4 video clip before it was doctored by vicious
elements involved against the country (Daily
News : 2 July 2011).

Another 339 families
resettled - by Ishara MUDUGAMUWA - Another
1,200 people from 339 families from Ananda Coomaraswamy and Kadirgamar
IDP camps were resettled, said Resettlement Minister Gunaratne
Weerakoon. "So far 255,238 people have been resettled in the
Northern Province and the rest will be resettled by year's end, he
said. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has instructed the authorities to
expedite the resettlement process,' the minister said. The minister
said these areas were cleared of landmines and declared safe before
resettlement of the IDPs. The Resettlement Ministry will provide dry
rations worth Rs 4,500 for six months to the newly resettled families.
'All infrastructure facilities will be provided to them. The ministry
will spend Rs 1.6 million to provide additional dry rations for the
newly settled 339 families for six months. Special milk packets will
be provided to expectant mothers (Daily
News : 2 July 2011).

Things to think about
from Akashi - One time trouble-shooter in
Sri Lanka's conflict, Yasushi Akashi, has given the world some food
for thought on issues, which to him, constitute very familiar ground.
The points made by him which we front-paged yesterday, should receive
the attention of particularly those sections which have chosen to sit
in judgment on Sri Lanka over questions arising from the controversial
Darusman Report and the infamous Channel 4 video. Two points, in
particular, made by Akashi, need to be the subject of impartial
deliberation. One is that Sri Lanka's internal inquiry into the issues
thrown-up during the last stages of the conflict should be allowed to
proceed without let or hindrance. The other is that, rather than throw
barbs and brickbats at this country on unfounded allegations, the
world would do well to help in the reconstruction and rehabilitation
effort in Sri Lanka. To take the first point, the world should take
note of the fact that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation (LLRC)
process constitutes Sri Lanka's efforts to bring healing and accord to
its people. It should be given a chance to complete this undertaking
and on the basis of whether this would be done completely or not Sri
Lanka should be judged. However, it should be clear that the LLRC is
yet to complete its task and the world would do well to allow this to
happen, in the name of justice and fair play (Daily
News : 2 July 2011).

Sri Lankas North
and East are transformed economically vibrant regions
- Parliament can find a better solution since various political
parties are represented in the Parliament and the government
consideration that the best solution that could be found is through a
Parliamentary Select Committee. This was stated by Minister of
Environment Mr. Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, responding to questions
raised after the Media Briefing on Cabinet Decisions held at the
Information Department yesterday. He said that the situation at
present is totally different after defeat of LTTE which was totally
against a political solution. At that time he said that no political
party in the North could express their opinion freely and only they
had to follow the dictates of the LTTE. Joining the conference, the
General Secretary of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance Minister
Susil Prem Jayanth said that after 19th May, 2009, Sinhalese, Tamils
and Muslims of this country has different views. Even the
international opinion is different. At that they were insisting for a
solution through discussion. Terrorism is totally over now. Earlier,
Tamil National Alliance was unable to express their opinion freely and
they were under pressure from the LTTE. Several countries and
organization considered LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamil
community. This view has now being completely changed. Minister Susil
Prem Jayanth said that the results of the last General Election and
the Local Government Elections have proved that the people of the
North and East are not solely represented by the Tamil National
Alliance (TNA) and the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and
some other political parties too represent these people. In Batticaloa
and Vavuniya representatives UPFA have equal representation. In
Trincomalee UPFA have 2 members, while TNA and UNP have one member
each. TNA considered as the sole representative of the people of the
North and East has become a myth. In the Vavuniya district TNAs
percentage of votes amounted to only 45%., at same time UPFA received
42%. It was same in Kilinochchi and Mulativu as well. Election results
are the best barometer to prove this point (Asian
Tribune : 2 July 2011).

SL High Commissions
letter to Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- I wish to register my strong protest at the proposed re-telecasting
of the Channel 4 documentary titled "Sri Lanka's Killing
Fields" on ABC's Four Comers programme. The programme content is
completely biased and contains unsubstantiated allegations against the
Government of Sri Lanka. The views expressed in the film are without
any guarantee of authenticity.The video footage of executions
supposedly taken from a mobile phone has not been verified as
authentic. The LTTE regularly executed persons that had compromised
its loyalty. In fact the deputy leader of the LTTE, Mahathaya was
executed on the orders of the LTTE Leader Prabakaran. The LTTE
executed 600 Policemen in cold blood after they surrendered to the
LTTE during President Premadasa's peace process period. There is a
possibility that this footage is from LTTE executions that have been
released to discredit the Sri Lankan government. The military uniforms
of the individuals do not clearly establish that these are Sri Lankan
army personnel. The shots in the video clip could well be treatment
meted out by the LTTE in army uniform. The obvious bias of the
programme is further illustrated by the fact that a major portion of
the video footage has been acquired from the LTTE and its sources. All
video footage taken in LTTE controlled areas during the final days of
the conflict was very selective in its portrayal of the ground
reality. The LTTE deliberately embedded its military resources amongst
the civilian population and it is very surprising that none of the
video footage in the Channel 4 programme shows any LTTE military
activity in the midst of the civilian population. The portrayal of the
ground situation in the programme is as if the LTTE never existed in
the areas that were being filmed and the Government forces were
deliberately targeting innocent civilians. This is a clear distortion
of facts and the ground reality that existed at that time (Island
; 1 July 2011).

Sri Lanka: Recent accusations and some relevant
facts - Published in June 2011 News
Letter of New Zealand Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights in Sri
Lanka - Background ; A much publicized video titled Sri Lankas
Killing Fields, produced by Channel 4 of the UK, was screened on 14
June 2011 followed by rescreening of it by various national TV
channels including those in New Zealand. According to the presenter,
Jon Snow, the video represented devastating evidence of war crimes and
crimes against humanity believing that it supports a powerful case for
bringing those guilty of these crimes to justice. There is no doubt
that some of the scenes shown by Channel 4 were most horrific and
gruesome. The declared motive of the Director, Callum Macrea, to air
this documentary was to insist that Sri Lanka has to be tried for
crimes against humanity and of war crimes committed during the final
few months of the war against Tamil Tigers (LTTE). SPURNZ views with
concern the notion apparently shared by many western nations that Sri
Lankas actions during the closing stages of the long drawn war
against the internationally proscribed band of terrorists require
scrutiny despite the fact that these terrorists, during a nearly
30-year armed insurrection against a democratically elected
government, were responsible of killing using suicide bombers an
elected Prime Minister of India, an elected President of Sri Lanka,
maiming another elected President of and murdering numerous democratic
political leaders of the Tamil community and thousands after thousand
s of innocent civilians both belonging to the Sinhala and Tamil
community (LankaWeb
; 1 July 2011).

SLN responds to
Channel 4 News allegations: How come ICRC evacuated 12,000 persons if
forces denied access to Tiger territory?
- By Shamindra Ferdinando - Responding to Channel 4 News
allegation that the government of Sri Lanka had deliberately denied
food to those trapped on the Vanni east front during the final phase
of the Vanni offensive, navy headquarters yesterday said that the a
food ship reached the North less than a week before the LTTE collapsed
on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon on May 19, 2009. Navy
headquarters spokesperson Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya told The
Island that four vessels, Sinhabahu, Green Ocean, Binhtan and City of
Dublin had been deployed to move 2361.315 MT food items from
Trincomalee to Puthumathalan, where the LTTE made its last stand. The
SLN spokesperson said that food shipments were made from Feb. 17, 2009
to May 14, 2009 as the army fought its way into rapidly dwindling area
held by terrorists. WFP-led overland food convoys came to a halt on
Nov. 23, 2009 as fighting escalated on the Vanni east front. According
to Presidential Task Force for Resettlement, Development and Security
in the Northern Province, the WFP carried 12 overland food convoys
beginning Oct, 2008 to Jan 23, 2009, before heavy fighting forced a
halt to overland supply convoys. Commander Warnakulasuriya said that
supplies to Puthumathalan from Feb 17 to May 14, 2009 comprised wheat
flour (1095 MT), dhal (273 MT), vegetable oil (92 MT), sugar (97 MT),
medical items (3.5 MT), samaposha (1MT), cerelac (1.05 MT), sprats (1
MT), green gram (2 MT), rice (698 MT), pumpkin/carrot (19.21 MT),
potato (05 MT), cone soya beans (29.92 MT), chili powder (1.4 MT),
coriander (0.7 MT), salt (3.25 MT), Cummins seed (0.7 MT), pepper seed
(0.7 MT), soya (2 MT), T leaves (2.50 MT), garlic (3.50 MT), milk
food, medical, clothing and other items (21.13 MT), b onions (05 MT)
and other items (1.765 MT). The Puthumathan bound cargo included
12,600 litres if kerosene, 720 litres of patrol and 274 litres of 2T
oil, the official said (Island
: 1 July 2011).

Over looking NATOs
Killing Fields in Libya, UN warns Sri Lanka of action in absence of
probe - By Charles.S.Perera It is strange
that an ineffective UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon , submissive to
the powerful , who lacked imagination to seek for the UNO an
independent path of excellence in dispute management of its Member
States, is being propelled back into the seat of leadership for a
second period. The coming years promise yet another period of UNOs
descent into another insignificant period of existence as an
Organization expected to maintain peace in the world , but incapable
to negotiate to stop political confrontations between Member States,
stop interference by the powerful Member States into the affairs of
Sovereign Member States of developing countries, and incompetent to
forestall the International Community aiding and abetting ,interposing
their own Organizations- like the NATO to destabilize and destroy
other Member Sovereign States on the pretext of aiding rebels forces
to dispose of ruling governments , or governments not obedient to
their dictates. Sri Lanka, should under ordinary circumstances should
have been the first to have opposed Ban Ki Moons re-election as the
UN Secretary General. But however undeserving seems the support of the
Government of Sri Lanka to Ban Ki Moon, we have to bow down as the
ways of diplomacy is difficult to imagine (LankaWeb
: 1 July 2011).

UN rights chief warns
Lanka - The UN's human rights chief Thursday
warned Sri Lanka not to take too long in probing war crimes
allegations, saying failure to carry out a credible inquiry could lead
to international action. "There is now a high level of
expectations expressed by member states that Sri Lanka should
seriously inquire into these allegations" of prisoner executions
and assaults, said Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
"But this should not be an open-ended process," she
stressed, noting that a previous Sri Lankan internal inquiry
"failed to complete its task, never published its report and
never led to a single prosecution." "If that should be the
case again, there is an intention for the international community to
take further action. I certainly believe that the Human Rights Council
should actively consider this matter," said Pillay. Pressure has
mounted on Colombo since Britain's Channel 4 broadcast a documentary
that showed what it said were prisoner executions and bodies of female
Tamil fighters who appeared to have been sexually assaulted. A recent
UN report accused government forces of war crimes, alleging that they
executed rebel leaders who had surrendered. An estimated 100,000
people were killed in the nearly four-decade-long Tamil separatist
conflict, which began in 1972. Pillay's remarks echoed that of the
United States, which on Tuesday urged Sri Lanka to move quickly to
address allegations of war crimes. Colombo has questioned the
authenticity of the Channel 4 footage but said that a local panel,
known as the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, would take
action if the allegations are proven (Daily
Mirror ; 1 July 2011).

Sri Lanka releases
unaltered video - The Defence Ministry today
released to the media the unaltered video used to create the Channel4
documentary on Sri Lanka, Army Spokesman Major General Ubaya Madawela
told Daily Mirror online. The video which was obtained from England
was shown on a private media station this evening, Major General
Madawela said (Daily
Mirror ; 1 July 2011).

Raw video clips
obtained - Basil - The unaltered raw
video clip used to create the fabricated Channle4 video killing
fields which insults the war heroes and the country has been
obtained, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said. He added
that there are some locals who assist foreign elements who are against
the country and he requested them not to be swayed by Dollars and
Euros to work against their motherland (Daily
Mirror ; 1 July 2011).

Ranil to meet UN
Chief - UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is
to meet UN Chief Ban Ki-moon in July 5, in New York, the Inner City
Press said. Mr. Wickremesinghe is currently on a visit to United
States (Daily
Mirror : 1 July 2011).

Rajiv Gandhi
assassination: Priyanka's meeting with Nalini a diplomatic move,
claims Murugan - One of the death row
convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case - Murugan - has
alleged that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's much publicised meeting with his
wife and co-accused in the case - Nalini - in March 2008 in Vellore
jail was part of an elaborate game plan. Priyanka's visit was
described as an attempt to come to peace with her father's violent
assassination. However, the jailed Murugan told a Tamil magazine that
her visit was a diplomatic ploy to put pressure on Sri Lanka to fall
in line because New Delhi feared Colombo was getting too close to
Islamabad and Beijing. He also claimed that Nalini was used as a prop.
After the Sri Lankan Army captured the western part of the country
from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2007, India did
not want to be sidelined in the military operations, Murugan claimed.
Murugan, who was part of a five-member squad that eliminated Rajiv
Gandhi on May 21, 1991, said that India did not want Sri Lanka to join
hand with China and Pakistan, which were financially helping Sri Lanka
and hampering India's interests. "Angered by this, to bring Sri
Lanka under its control, India came out with a game plan of
Priyanka-Nalini meeting. This was to send a message to Sri Lanka that
if it acted against India, then the latter would not hesitate to
support its enemies. Even Rajiv Gandhi assassination issue will not be
a block for this. So Indian government decided to send across this
message to Rajapakse government," Murugan told the magazine (India
Today : 1 July 2011).

Bringing pressure on
Sri Lanka: Now UN human rights chief Pillai warns
- by Daya Gamage - In the heat of the United States warning Sri Lanka
that the international community may take Sri Lanka to the
international court if alleged violations of International
Humanitarian Law were domestically not robed, the United Nations human
rights chief Navi Pillai on Thursday 30 June made the same warning.
While many major nations such as the Peoples Republic of China,
Russia, Pakistan, India etc, have dissociated with the U.S., Britain
and some European Nations endeavor to corner Sri Lanka alleging human
rights violations during the final months (Jan-May 2009) of its battle
with the terrorist outfit Tamil Tigers or LTTE, one wonders as to who
belong to the so called international community that both the
U.S. on Tuesday and Navi Pillai on Thursday have been referring to
haul Sri Lanka before an international court. Amsterdam based news
portal expatica.com has reported the following remarks by Navi Pillay,
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, quoting AFP on Jun 29. The UNs
human rights chief Thursday warned Sri Lanka not to take too long in
probing war crimes allegations, saying failure to carry out a credible
inquiry could lead to international action. There is now a high
level of expectations expressed by member states that Sri Lanka should
seriously inquire into these allegations of prisoner executions and
assaults, said Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. But
this should not be an open-ended process, she stressed, noting that
a previous Sri Lankan internal inquiry failed to complete its task,
never published its report and never led to a single prosecution.
If that should be the case again, there is an intention for the
international community to take further action. I certainly believe
that the Human Rights Council should actively consider this matter,
said Pillay (Asian
Tribune ; 1 July 2011).

India to help Sri
Lankan army to build capacities - India has
agreed to help the Sri Lankan Army in its capacity building by opening
up more seats for its officers and men in its training academies and
military colleges, apart from sharing experiences in
counter-insurgency operations. The agreements were arrived at during
the first structured army-to-army talks that ended on Friday, an
Indian Army officer said. Apart from deciding to enhance the scope and
number of training courses for Sri Lankan officers and men, the Indian
Army will also share its experience and organisational structure for
humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. For the talks, Sri Lanka
had sent a five-member delegation led by its military secretary, Major
General HCP Goonetilleke. India was represented by the army's
Additional Director General for International Cooperation, Major
General I.P. Singh. The two sides will also send their military
instructors to each other's military academies. Sri Lankan, in
particular, needed instructors in adventure sports and English
language, which India agreed to provide, they said. The Goonetilleke-led
delegation also met Indian Army chief General V.K. Singh during the
visit. In the inaugural army-to-army staff talks, which began
Wednesday, the two sides also shared their expertise in battle
concepts and doctrines, particularly in tackling insurgency. While Sri
Lanka successfully ended its three-decade long civil war with the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) two years ago, India is
battling insurgents in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states.
The Sri Lankan delegation will return to Colombo on Saturday (Hindustan
Times ; 1 July 2011).

Elephant Pass saltern
to produce 70,000 tons of salt annually - By
Pabodha Hettige - The Elephant Pass saltern would have, after its
reopening, the capacity to generate nearly 3,000 employment
opportunities, Secretary to the Ministry of Traditional Industries and
Small Enterprise Development, V. Sivagnanasothy said. "It is
expected to boost the national economy," he said. Once reopened,
the saltern would be able to produce nearly 70,000 tons of salt
annually. Currently, feasibility studies were being conducted to
re-open the saltern and the project proposal would be finalised soon,
he said. Currently demining teams had almost cleared 95 per cent of
land in the area
(Island : 1 July 2011).

Sri Lanka receives unaltered video
- The Defence Ministry today received the unaltered video used to
create the Channel4 documentary on Sri Lanka, Army Spokesman Major
General Ubaya Madawela told Daily Mirror online. The video which was
obtained from England was shown on a private media station this
evening, Major General Madawela said. (Daily
Mirror online : 1 July 2011).(Click
here for the unaltered video footage).

Aerial topographical
maps taken of North to identify cultivable land
- By Franklin R. Satyapalan - For the first time in Sri Lanka the
government was able to take 1 x 20,000 scale colour aerial
topographical maps of all land available for development in the
Northern Province following the successful liberation of the country
from terrorism, Surveyor General Mahes Fernando said on Wednesday. He
said that the programme to take aerial maps of the Northern Province
commenced on the advice of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to identify all
arable land for development of agriculture and other activities. The
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided the funding for
this project and was responsible for contracting the aircrafts from
overseas to carry out the aerial mapping (Island
; 1 July 2011).

More IDP families
resettled in Mullaitivu - By Franklin R.
Satyapalan - Another batch of 307 Internally Displaced (IDPs )
families, from the Kadirgamarpuram welfare camp in Vavuniya, were
resettled in their former village in the Vallipunanm GS division in
Mullaitivu on Tuesday June 28. District Secretary for Mullaitivu S.
Pathinathan said on Wednesday. Following the completion of the
de-mining process in these areas the government had decided to
accelerate the resettlement of the remaining IDPs in the
Kadirgamapural Relief camp in Vavuniya. Pathinathan said That the
Minister of Resettlement Gunaratne Weerakoon was in Vavuniya on
Tuesday to send off the batch of IDPs. All 911 persons, belonging to
the 307 families, who were resettled were provided with a parcel of
dry rations and other supplementary food items. Twelve tin roofing
sheets were given to each family to put up a shelter. Rs. 20,000 would
be banked to their credit by the UNHCR as a resettlement allowance,
Pathinathan said. On Thursday another batch of 1085 persons, belonging
to 337 families, would be resettled in the Maritime Pattru AGA
Division in the Mullaitivu district. On Monday (4) 637 persons,
belonging to 195 IDP families, were scheduled to be resettled in the
Kumarapural GS division in the Mullaitivu district (Island
; 1 July 2011).

Darusman
Report improper - Akashi

Darusman Report
improper - Akashi - Intl
community should not create various issues - Any inquiry should
be conducted locally - LTTE ruthless terrorist organization -
The Darusman Report though intended only to be an advisory report
to the Secretary General of the UN, is improper, said Senior
Adviser on Foreign Policy in Japan Yasushi Akashi when he addressed
the 16th Joint Committee of the Sri Lanka Business Co-operation
Meeting held in Tokyo last week. Akashi was speaking on the subject of
Recent Political Developments in Sri Lanka, as the keynote
speaker at this meeting. Akashi said that any inquiry into the last
days of the war should be conducted locally through recognized
individuals of good judgement. The LLRC is such a body. Therefore
we should ask anyone who has representations to direct them to the
LLRC. The global community should also await the findings of the
local committee and not try to jump the gun by creating various issues
in international fora, he said. Akashi also said that the LTTE was a
ruthless terrorist organization and should not be equated in status to
a sovereign state such as Sri Lanka. Such an equation is not only
unjustified but would pose a threat to the global fight against
terrorism. He also said that the LTTE sabotaged the Tokyo meeting of
which Japan and the United States were to be co-chairs. They again
sabotaged the Geneva meeting when the government of Sri Lanka had
already sent its delegates. He said that time and time again, the
international community had provided opportunities for the LTTE to
enter the negotiation process (Daily
News : 1 July 2011).

'Two groups in Tamil
Diaspora' - by Nadira GUNATILLEKE - There
are two groups in the Tamil Diaspora now. One group clearly opposes
the LTTE and the other is still supporting the LTTE ideology,
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Rajitha Senaratne
told the Daily News. "The first part is the pro Tamil group. They
do not support the LTTE. The second group still supports the LTTE even
after the government wiped out terrorism from Sri Lanka,"
Minister Senaratne. He said that even Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton
received funds from the LTTE while they were engaged in the
Presidential Election campaign. But they rejected those funds after
realizing that the funds came from the LTTE, one of the the world's
most ruthless terrorists organizations. But still billions of LTTE
funds are there in foreign countries. These are the funds used by anti
Sri Lankan elements. Minister Senaratne pointed out that discussions
are now going on with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to find a
political solution. Discussions should be held with all Tamil
political parties. Devolution of power will be the solution to the
conflict. The 13th amendment is part of the existing Constitution of
Sri Lanka. It is the responsibility of the government to protect and
implement the country's Constitution. All should support the
government find a solution to the conflict and make Sri Lanka the
Wonder of Asia. It is the responsibility of all, Minister Senaratne
added (Daily
News ; 1 July 2011).

TNA not sole Tamil
representative in Lanka: Govt - Amid efforts
to hammer out a solution to the political grievances of the Tamils in
Sri Lanka, the government plans to consult other members of the
minority ethnic group as it does not treat Tamil National Alliance (TNA)
as the sole representative of the community. Susil Premajayantha, the
Minister of Petroleum, Industries and the ruling UPFA coalition''s
general secretary, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa''s decision to
convene a parliamentary select committee was based on the decision
that there are many Tamil groups who need to be consulted not just TNA
to resolve the ethnic question. "TNA is not the sole
representative. There are many other Tamil political parties and
groups elected from the north and east provinces," Premajayantha
said. The government and the TNA have held seven rounds of talks to
discuss a possible political solution. Rajapaksa said this week that
parliamentary select committee would be his preferred tool to
formulate a solution. "There are many other political parties and
groups who have been elected by the Tamils," Premajayantha
stressed. Rajapaksa''s government has been coy to deal with the TNA,
the proxies of the defeated LTTE for the fear of losing its support
among the Sinhala majority (MSN
News : 1 July 2011).

Viru Daru
Diriya (VDD) Fund was established in Melbourne, Australia to help the
children and families of the Sri Lankan armed forces. We strongly
believe that helping the education of the children of those who have
sacrificed to protect our motherland Sri Lanka is the prime duty of
all Sri Lankans (see
details)

What was really happening
in Sri Lanka was that a blood thirsty racist group led by
some misled Tamils called LTTE was terrorizing against the Government
of Sri Lanka and its people irrespective of their ethnicity with an
intention of carving out a separate state. There is no conflict as
such between Sinhalese and Tamil communities in Sri Lanka. In fact,
the majority of the Tamil community lives in peace and harmony among
the Sinhalese population through out the country apart from the
Northern part of Sri Lanka. The entire Sinhalese and the Muslims
population who lived in the Northern area for centuries were either
killed or chased away completely by the LTTE Tamil Tiger terrorists.
At the moment, not a single Sinhalese or Muslim is living in Jaffna,
but, many thousands of Tamils are living in Colombo in peace with
the other communities. Based on 2001 census, the Tamil population in
Colombo district is 12.1% (see
2001 census). So, who is discriminated ? Tamils or Sinhalese? Do
you need more evidence ?

LIKE THE WEST ASKING
SRI LANKA TO SUBMIT ITSELF TO AN INTERNATIONAL WAR CRIMES
INVESTIGATION, WE ASK THE CHANNEL FOUR TO SUBMIT ITSELF TO
AN IMPARTIAL INVESTIGATION ABOUT THE KILLING FIELDS OF
SRI LANKA VIDEO - MEDIA RELEASE  SRI LANKA SUPPORT
GROUP, CANBERRA (LankaWeb
: 12 July 2011)

LIKE THE WEST ASKING
SRI LANKA TO SUBMIT ITSELF TO AN INTERNATIONAL WAR CRIMES
INVESTIGATION, WE ASK THE CHANNEL FOUR TO SUBMIT ITSELF TO
AN IMPARTIAL INVESTIGATION ABOUT THE KILLING FIELDS OF
SRI LANKA VIDEO - MEDIA RELEASE SRI LANKA SUPPORT GROUP,
CANBERRA
(LankaWeb : 10 July 2011).

UK Channel 4, fools a
naive home audience with low grade TV Programmes with faked
films, and Discredits a Sovereign States for a « fistful of
Dollars - By Charles.S.Perera UK
(LankaWeb ; 12 June 2011).

Re: Rathika
Sitasabaiesan, NDP MP for Scarborough Rough River : her set
priority in the House is to form an All Party Parliamentary
Committee to study the unapproved Security Council UN (Darushman)
Report on Sri Lanka - by Asoka Weerasinghe, Canada (LankaWeb
: 30 May 2011).

Winning War Against
Terror, Human rights violations and War Crimes - An open
letter to Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the UN, Ms. Navi
Pillay, UN Hign Commissioner of Human Rights , Ms. Radhika
Coomaraswamy, Special representative of the UN SG for
Children in Armed Conflict by Warna Hettiarachchi, Canada (Sinhale
Hot News : 6 July 2010).

http://www.apiwenuwenapi.com/
is the official web site of the Api Wenuwen Api fund raising
campaign. The Api Wenuwen Api Fund is a collaboration between the
The Ministry of Defence and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to build
50,000 houses for the serving Tri-Service personnel. The gift of
housing is one of the best and most tangible ways to demonstrate our
gratitude and appreciation. This is the time for all Sri Lankans to
support our brothers and sisters who are committed to bringing peace
to our motherland Sri Lanka. All contributions from the campaign and
fund raising events will be donated to Api Wenuwen Api Housing
Project in Sri Lanka.

Thawalama
Development Foundation

No. 5,
Rajakeeya Mawatha, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka.

The
Thawalama Development Foundation (TDF) was established on 1994
April 25th to support and assist in the implementation of
Project Thawalama approved by the Ministry of Defense on 1994
January 14th. http://thawalama.org

Solheim
responds to allegations targeting Norway at LLRC In SL lies
are used for political gains or to taint someones
reputation Karuna reiterates call for probe on Tiger
revenue sources (Island
: 29 December 2010).

British
FM David Milliband is back to his third grade gimmicks against
Sri Lanka. Please look after your back yard without poking your
stinking fingers into Sri Lankan Affairs. Sri Lanka has
had enough of you and your white clan. We do not care you guys
anymore. So, Shut up.

None of
the three vessels carrying Sri Lankan Tamils, which had been
intercepted by the Canadians and Indonesians on high seas during
the past fortnight, originated in Sri Lanka.

Conspiracy
by Arms Manufacturing Western Nations

Western Arms Manufacturers need battlefields
to sell their Arms. An estimated 500,000 individuals dies in
small arms-conflict every year, approximately one death per
minute. It is estimated that yearly, over 1 trillion dollars are
spent on military expenditure worldwide.

Open
Letter to UN Secretary General: Ms. Hillary Clintons book
on Rape has Blank pages on Okinawa - by Bandu de Silva, Former
Sri Lankan Ambassador to France, and the Vatican (Asian
Tribune ; 17 Oct 2009).

What is really happening
in Sri Lanka today is that a blood thirsty racist group led by
some misled Tamils called LTTE is terrorizing against the Government
of Sri Lanka and its people irrespective of their ethnicity with an
intention of carving out a separate state. There is no conflict as
such between Sinhalese and Tamil communities in Sri Lanka. In fact,
the majority of the Tamil community lives in peace and harmony among
the Sinhalese population through out the country apart from the
Northern part of Sri Lanka. The entire Sinhalese and the Muslims
population who lived in the Northern area for centuries were either
killed or chased away completely by the LTTE Tamil Tiger terrorists.
At the moment, not a single Sinhalese or Muslim is living in Jaffna,
but, many thousands of Tamils are living in Colombo in peace with
the other communities. Based on 2001 census, the Tamil population in
Colombo district is 12.1% (see
2001 census). So, who is discriminated ? Tamils or Sinhalese? Do
you need more evidence ?

The United States' top intelligence
agency, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) says that the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is the most dangerous and deadly extremist organization in the
world. The official website of FBI in its tops story said that LTTE is far more
dangerous terrorists outfit than al Queda, Hezbullah or even HAMAS.
Read more...